Highschool DxD: Dark World
by shadowwriter01
Summary: Side story to Issei Hyoudou: the Guardian - AU story. After countless centuries an ancient enemy - the Demons of Old had returned and defeated and enslaved the Devils, who had once banished them from the Underworld. Parts of the human world have also fallen to them and their allies, the Fallen. Alone Heaven, the Church and humanity are still standing against them. Issei x fem. Vali
1. Chapter 1: Alternate History

**Highschool DxD: Dark World  
**

 _For eons, the Supernatural World has existed along the human one._

 _Gods, Demons, Vampires, monsters and Angels and many other creature had all the time next to humanity, showing themselves to them whenever it was in their interest... and hiding from their sight when it was not._

 _And while some organizations, like the various Churches and other spiritual leaders of the different religions, knew perfectly well about their existence, many people only thought of them as myths.  
_

 _Three of the largest and most prominent sub-groups of these beings were the ones_ _ _that formed the mythology of Christianity - the Angels, Fallen Angels and Devils.__

 _ _They were also called the three great Factions of the Bible.  
__

 ** _xxx_**

 _Many centuries ago these three Factions were fighting each other in the so called Great War, over control of both, humanity and the Underworld. The conflict waged on for countless years and ultimately... brought all three races to a point, where they would be threatened with extinction if it continued._

 _Aside from all that however - there had also been another group that had risen during that time, that had become an important factor in the war - the Sacred Gear users._

 _Sacred Gears were supernatural weapons or tools, created by God, to give normal humans a way to fight back against supernatural beings. Every Sacred Gear was given by Heaven at random to a human at his or her birth. It was luck, or maybe fate as you could call it. And with every new generation, the Sacred Gears went on to another host._

 _Over the years however, all three sides of the war had started to recruit some of the humans who carried these powerful weapons to their sides. So they had not only become a protection for humanity, but often also an asset for the Supernaturals themselves.  
_

 ** _xxxxxxx_**

 _One thing that very few were aware of, was that creation actually consisted of multiple - countless - parallel universes, that existed next to each other. Dimensions like the Underworld - where the Devils and many of the Fallen Angels resided, was just the next sub-dimension, closely connected to the main universe._

 _Many of these parallel worlds were in fact near copies to each other. And so came it that the same conflict was in truth happening at the same time in many different realities._

 _In most of these alternate worlds of the Multiverse, the great war ended in a similar way... in a stalement in one way or another and led to a centuries long ceasefire between the three Factions. There was no actual peace, but none of them dared to continue a full-scale war since it could mean the end of all three races. That was until finally a Peace Treaty was signed between the three Factions.  
_

 _There was one world however, where things were different... and the events had taken a completely different course.  
_

 ** _xxx_**

It was at the final phase of the conflict... it was some time after the two Heavily Dragons Ddraig and Albion had been sealed away by the Biblical God, as their destructive fight against each other threatened to devastate the world and the three Factions had temporally to work together to stop them. But this short lived alliance didn´t led to an and of the war.

Instead the fighting was quickly resumed after the common threat had been removed.

Then, a short time ago, the unthinkable had happened... the biblical God himself had died... and so were the four Devil Kings. They had destroyed each other during the last greater battle, that had been fought at the Gates of Heaven itself... in a terrible - you could say apocalyptic - fight.

Right afterwards the armies of all three sides retreated, with the Fallen Angels being the first.

But that was not the end... not yet.

Like in most other realities, in the end it ended in an armistice.

But the nature of this ceasefire was complitely different from what one might expect.

Something happened, an event that changed everything. At the end of the war, it was not longer about the Three Factions and their rivalry. In fact two of these Factions had at this time effectively ceased to exist...

... and instead and ancient threat had returned to their world.

 **xxxxxxx**

 _Eons before_

 _Only few were old enough to still remember it at this point, but the Devils were not the first creatures of the Darkness... and not the first inhabitants and rulers of the Underworld. Before them - at the brink of known history... there were the Demons of old..._

 _ _The Devil race like it was known today came actually into existence through crossbreeding between these original Demons, corrupted humans - who had often formed pacts with them - and later with the first generation of Fallen Angels, the followers of the former Great Seraph and Archangel Lucifer, who had been banished from Heaven after his failed rebellion and sought refuge in the Underworld.  
__

 _ _For centuries, these `halfbreeds´ had spread under the Demon population, slowly beginning to rival them in numbers.  
__

 _ _But at the same time, the pure Demons were growing more and more complacent and arrogant and started to treat their `impure´ offspring like 2nd rate citizens at best and slaves at worst.__

 _ _It were mostly the halfbreeds who were forced to do the most manual work in their society... and enlisted into the lower ranks of their armies to be used as cannon fodder in the regulary taking place fights against the Angels and other races. One of them being Lucifer´s Fallen, who were starting to get a foothold in the Underworld.  
__

 _ _Over time, this situation of course slowly begann spark a rebellion. But while their number was great, they were scattered and disorganized and barely any of them were truly well trained. So despite having become for a great part lazy, overconfident and corrupt, the old Demons were still holding the most power.  
__

 _ _It was not until Lilith, one of the leaders of the demonically transformed humans and Lucifer decided to join forces, that the `halfbreeds´ were able to truly organize themselves and a true open war was breaking out.__

 _ _After nearly a year of fighting, the forces of the old Demons - who had despite their claims of superiority, had been relying more and more on their now rebelling servants - had been beaten.  
__

 _ _The surviving Demons, now facing a undefeatable superior number of crossbread Demons and Fallen Angels... decided to retreat from the Underworld and fled into the Dimensional Void.  
__

 _ _There they were soon confronted by an very annoyed Infinity Dragon Ophis, who was all but happy about thousands of demonic refugees taking shelter at it´s home.__

 _ _It became quickly clear to Ophis - and also to the Demons themselves - that they had survivors from not less than three different parallel universes here. In all of them had exactly the same war taken place... and they all had finally landed here.__

 _ _For a few moments, the Infinity Dragon had considered simply destroying the refugees... but then instead - after hearing the beaten and worn out Demon´s pleas that they had not come here willingly and had to flee for their lives and would gladly go somewhere else, if they only had such a place...__

 _ _Ophis decidded instead to send them to yet another universe to live their lives there. This single decision from a nearly allmighty being - an act of mercy - should in the end, ultimately, have terrible consequences for many worlds. But that was nothing anybody would have been able predict at that time.  
__

 _ _The reality where Ophis had send them was a world where humanity as most other worlds knew it had never evolved and no Supernatural beings had never set foot on the planet Earth. Instead however this Earth had been briefly colonized by an highly technological advanced race of aliens.__

 _ _Until a plaque had wiped out the small population. (A plaque that had in fact been manufactured by an extremist rogue faction of these aliens and got out of control as it was released on the people. But they had no way to know that.)__

 _ _To their luck however, the plaque - along with the beings who had once lived there - had long disappeared. And they, being Supernatural creatures, would have most likely been immune to it anyway.  
__

 ** _ _xxx__**

 _ _Meanwhile the Halfblood Demons and Lucifer´s Fallen Angels had taken complete control over the Underworld.__

 _ _From their on they were quickly merging into a single race that quickly came to be called the `Devils´. Not only through crossbreeding - but also because many Fallen Angels decided - as a sign of their new unity, to use magic to turn themselves into demonic beings.  
__

 _ _This also had completely pragmatic reason, since the Fallen who were left of Lucifer´s original army quickly found themselves vastly outnumbered by the halfbreed Demons and feared they could end up as a small oppressed minority in the new state, they themselves had helped to create.__

 _ _Lucifer himself, along with the most powerful and skilled generals of their united army - Beelzebub, Asmodeus, Belial and Leviathan - soon declared themselves the five Devil Kings, with Lilith as Lucifer´s Queen.__

 _ _Belial however was killed during a battle with the Forces of Heaven that the newly crowned Maou had started a short time later out of overconfidence.__

 _ _That reduced the number of Devil Kings to four - like it would be for the centuries to come - and the rest of the Belial line settled for the title of `Prince´ instead.__

 _ _The new Devil race however turned out not to be much different from the `masters´ they had overthrown. Like them, they found themselves soon overcome by pride, arrogance and decadence.__

 _ _Soon they declared themselves as `pureblooded´ Devils... and many of them started to downright deny their human or angelic heritage. At first it had mostly been the thought that they were now a new race and that the `before´ didn´t matter anymore.  
__

 _ _Not much later however they in fact started to claim that the Underworld had always been theirs and acted as if the original Demonrace had never existed... and begann to teach this to their children. It was a lie born out of false pride, spawned by their victory and new power.__

 _ _After a few centuries, only a few of the oldest Devils were even left to remember the truth. Many of the original ones had died in other wars or smaller skirmishes with Heaven or other races.__

 _ _And none of them was aware of the terrible enemy, that was rising only a few realities away.__

 ** _ _xxx__**

 _ _Meanwhile, in the universe the surviving Demons had been banished to,__ _ _ _ _took over the ruins the former alien inhabitants had left behind__... and also found the leftovers of their technology. __

__In some sense Ophis could not have chosen a worse world to send them to.  
__

 _ _They begann to rebuild their lost civilization, by taking over what the mysterious aliens had left behind. They started to combine the technology of the aliens they had recovered with their own and their magical abilities.  
__

 _ _At the same time however, their fanatism and their hatred of their in their eyes impure kin - that had taken `wrongfully´ from them what had been theirs, grew more and more.__

 _ _They started to look back and to recapitulate about what had caused them to loose against them... and came to an terrible conclusion.__

 _ _They had lost their way. They were Demons, beings created from the dark side of the universe. By allowing themselves to grow lazy, corrupt and **weak** , they had practically invited this rebellion to happen. So they decided to once again concentrate on the things that had made their race reat in the first place - strength, power, ruthlessness and terror.  
__

 _ _In honor of the Darkness, that they knew gave them all life, they renamed their race into the Erebos Demons.__

 _ _They soon forgot about the fact that they themselves had been at Ophis mercy not so long ago and only still existed because the Infinity Dragon had decided, on a whim, not to destroy them.__

 _ _After their number had recovered enough, they begann to purge everyone from their race they viewed as `weak´.__

 _ _They pushed their development in both technology and magic even more and stripped the version of the planet Earth they had been send to of it´s resources to build up fortress-cities around the globe and create weapons of war and mass destruction.__

 _ _They also found better and more effective ways to travel between dimensions. Slowly they were developing a nearly perfect balance between magic and technology.__

 _ _This however was nothing against the terrifying mindset, that was spawning itself through their entire race.__

 _ _They completely rebuild their entire society into an army like their race had never seen it before - always driven by one thought... **revenge**.__

 **xxxxxxx**

 _Earth, the region of Palaestina - the valley of Megiddo... over a thousand years before the present  
_

The armies of the three Factions were facing each other, each of them ready to strike.

They all knew this would most likely be one of - if not the last - battle of the war. All sides were already more than depleted.

Too many had already died. Everybody knew that. Even God did... but this was something that currently very few, outside of the remaining Faction leaders themselves, knew about.

The Heavenly Seraph Azazel - who was leading one of the contingents of Heaven´s Army - sighed. There would be no more Angels created from their father himself... their would never be again.

The only way for their race to increase left, was now like for most other species, through sex. This alone however was a problem in itself, because every Angels who tried, would most likely end up as Fallen themselves.

It had been more than a surprise, that the Fallen Angels - who had the lowest population of them - of all people, had suddenly started another offensive.

But they did exactly that... and the other two Factions had moved their own forces to met their advance.

And now they were here. Ironically in the region that had been prophicied as the sight of the last battle in the bible. If the Fallen had chosen this place on purpose, they really showed a sense of humor.

Azazel´s eyes begann to move over the lines of the Fallen. Under them he could make out Baraquiel... and also Kokabiel, who looked actually eager for the fighting to start. And Shemhazai, the Second in Command of the Fallen Angels. All three of them had been his friends before their fall.

Sometimes he had to think, if thinks had only been a slightly bit different, would he then standing over there on their side? Maybe leading them?

 **xxx**

It was originally **him** , who had been chosen to lead the Watchers, the organization the Fallen Angel army had sprung from - a group of Angels who were tasked to watch and oversee the development of humanity closely... that was until one of the other Seraphs, who showed an equal interest in humans as himself, had asked for the position instead.

The Watchers or Grigori however became corrupted by temptation and got to caught up in their work. Not only had they fallen to sin and started to have intercourse with human women and men... they also showed them how to build weapons, fight and wage war. Instead of observing the development of humans, they were menipulating it.

For what they thought was best probably - at least in the beginning - but it was still something God could not tolerate.

Had he insisted on taking the position himself, he questioned sometimes, would he had been corrupted and fallen along with them? WOuld he have stayed their leader and leading them against the Forces of Heaven? But such thoughts were meaningless now.

Quite ironic, Heaven could have most likely deal better with **his** loss, than with the one´s who had **truly** become the leader of the Fallen, he told himself.

 **xxx**

"It is beginning - charge," he heard Michael´s command... and he gave the sign to his own troops.

He watched as the three armies clashed with each other. Dozens of soldiers from all three sides died alone in the first three seconds.

What in the world were the Fallen thinking for starting all these in the first place? Azazel asked himself. They were the ones with the least people and so the ones with the greatest risk of dieing out from this senseless massacre.

The battle had now fully broken out, the lines of the three armies were placing each other under fire, with long range weapons, energy blasts and light-spears.

Sacred Gear users, who had joined the ranks of each side, were activating their full powers and used it against their opponents.

Some of the higher level fighters and even a few leader-class Angels, Fallen and Devil were now standing in direct duel against each other.

Azazel´s question however was answered only a few minutes later.

Something happened what nobody - not in a thousand years - would have expected.

Suddenly all over the battlefield, strange vortexes were appearing in the air, that they could only identify as some sort of interdimensional portals - of a kind they had never seen before...

... That and hundreds of bizarre looking warriors, who came swarming out of this portals and were instantly attacking the Devil and Angel armies.

The newcomers had wings, that had great ressemblance with that of the Devils and small horns at the sides of their foreheads. Like the other supernatural beings, they also possessed different forms of magical power, like destructive one or the ability to augment their physical strength and fighting prowess. Or to weaken their enemies. Actually, many of the Devil Clans `special abilities´, like `Power of Destruction´ of the Baels and `Worthlessness´ of the Belial family, had their origins from the Demons.

Quite ironically, they were looking far more like Devils from human folklore, as the actual `Devils´ present did.

They all were also wearing dark colored armor, that gave them a sinister and dangerous appearance. All of them were carrying swords those blades were radiating light-energy, obviously designed to be used against Devils and many of them had some sort of long range weapons, slighly ressembling crossbows - but more modern - that were shooting energy blasts at their opponents.

Azazel watched how a half dozen of them were concentrating and channeling their power as one... and firing it into the lines of the Devil forces, annihilating several of them.

But they were not attacking the Fallen and indeed were taking positions next to them. That explained why the Fallen Angels had dared to start this campaign. They had found an ally.

"Lord Azazel," Reyila - a young very attractive female Angel and one of his squad leaders - asked him confused, "who are these creatures?"

"Demons," he replied grimly. "I had never thought I would see one of them again. And it seems they are able to teleport without using Magic Circles... and we have no way to block it."

"Their energy feels similar to that of Devils," Reyila pointed out. "But they are attacking them."

Yes - while they were engaging the Angels as well, the main force of their assault was directed at the Devils. This didn´t really surprise Azazel. By what he knew about the history of this two races, he was sure that they probably had a major grudge against them.

"Azazel," he received a message from Michael, "they are appearing everywhere. We are attacked from all sides and we have no way to stop them. Raphael and Uriel are holding their positions for now. But if even more of them arrive - and we have no way to prevent that - we will be getting overwhelmed," the leader of Heaven stated.

"We have to retreat for now," he declared, "until we figure out how to deal with this."

As he had ordered, the Angels were drawing back and the Demons let them... for the moment. They concentrated more on the Devil forces and destroying out.

What none of them knew at the moment, at the same time the Demons and their Fallen Angel allies had started a full scale attack on the Underworld.

Techno-magical weapons of mass destructions were being used to wipe out entire cities. Thousands of Demons and Fallen Angels were attacking at once, using their new form of teleportation to move and taking the remaining Devil forces by surprise.

The destruction and carnage surpassed everything seen before during the war.

The already decimated and worn out Devils - who had not even fully reorganized after the loss of their kings - had no chance against a full powered army, that had been build up for centuries and possessed weapons they had never seen before.

It took not more than three days for the Devils to finally surrender - or more precisely `trying´ to surrender, because the Demons just decided to ignore them and continue to slaughter them. It wasn´t until another four days - and many massacres - later... soldiers, civilians and children had been murdered without difference or care... that the fighting in the Underworld finally came to an end.

... And that only after several of the Fallen Angels had openly declared that they would not longer get along with this bloodbath and started to pressure the Erebos Demons into accepting the Devils surrender.

Knowing that they had still use for their Fallen allies, the Demons finally accepted. In the end it was just the interferrence of these Fallen Angels, that kept them from commiting full genocide on the Devils ad wiping their race from existence.

Instead a `compromise´ was formed and the Devils turned into slaves - this time without any pretense of being `citizens´ or `soldiers´.

 **xxx**

Meanwhile however, the war on Earth was also continuing.

The Angels reacted in horror as they heard what happened in the Underworld and deployed all their remaining forces to stop this new enemy.

In the end it was only through all their strength and full use of their human allies from the Church, that they had managed to stop their advance.

At this time however, the new `Alliance´ of Erebos Demons and Fallen Angels, had already brought all of Japan and parts of China under their control. In opposite to the Devil or Angels, the Erebos didn´t hesitate to show themselves openly to the humans and so they were suffering under their tyranny as well.

This was how the Great War ended centuries ago - not longer with three Faction, but instead with two even larger powers, struggling over control of the world.

 **xxxxxxx**

 _Japan in the present - the ruins of the town known as Old Kuoh  
_

It was one of the many human towns that had been raided and in this case completely destroyed, by marauding Erebos troops across Japan and the rest of Eastern Asia.

The young man known under the code-name of `Red Shadow´ was walking through the remains of what had until nearly sixteen years ago, been a human town - until it had been burned to the ground.

He had grown up not so far away from here in `New Kuoh´, a small secret settlement of humans and some Yokai and freed Devils, a few dozen miles away from here. It was a place that was hidden from the outside world by magical wards... And located close to it was also the base of their resistance cell.

Still, his mother had told him that he had been born here, in the old town... not long before it had been destroyed. His father had died during the attack, his mother had also told him. He had been too young to even remember him.

Nobody even knew for sure why Kuoh had been attacked like this.

Of course it happened regulary that humans were being targeted, sometimes kidnapped when the Demons had need for a few of them for their experiments... or just hunted and killed for sport.

But this - one town, so completely wiped from the face of the world?

Sometimes they also targeted humans because they possessed potentially dangerous Sacred Gears.

This gave the boy, whose real name was Issei Hyoudou, to think. Had the Demons somehow known who he was and **what** he had been born with? Had the hometown of his parents, the place where he had been born... been destroyed, just because of him? Because of the Boosted Gear?

He had by now nearly reached the meeting place.

It didn´t take long and he could sense the presences close by - one of them he knew like no other.

A second later three figures, wearing grey cloaks came out of the shadows.

"Red Shadow," one of the figures greeted him - "Issei-kun," she said then in a much softer voice and lowered her hood. He saw her blue eyes and her silvery hair falling over her shoulders.

Issei smiled at her. He was glad that she was back as well.

This girl - also known as `White Shadow´ under the rebels - Vali Lucifer, was supposed to be his greatest rival and opponent. She was the Hakuryuukou - the carrier of the Dividing Gear, where the Dragon Albion was sealed into, while he was the Sekiryuutei and carried the Boosted Gear that was holding his old rival Ddraig.

For many generations, the weilders of this two Sacred Gears had always been opponents, always fighting against each other - like the Dragon who gave them their power in the first place.

She was to one quarter Devil, a direct descendant of one of the old Devil Kings and three quarters human. As such she had literally a death sentence on her since the moment of her birth.

Issei remembered, as they had first met, a fight had nearly broken out between them... and many times afterwards nearly as well. So strong was the need to fight between their two Dragons.

But in the end it came different... completely different.

He stepped closer to her, layed his arms around and gave her a quick kiss. Beneath her cloak, he could feel her body pressing against him and her breasts - especially her breasts.

Her two compatriots lowered their hoods as well. The first was a very beautiful dark haired young woman, Kuroka - a nekoshou Yokai and the Second in Command of Vali´s team.

"I fear we have not much time for this," the other one - a young man - said, "as much as I would like to watch you." He grinned.

"Like always Freed," Kuroka commented. "You know that such statements are not exactly proper for a Priest right?"

"What shall I say, I admit I was never that good when it came to this part of my job," he answered, his grin only deepening.

Freed Selzen was an Exorcist and somewhat of an inofficial member of Issei´s and Vali´s teams. He was one of the contacts of the japanize resistance to the Church.

"I hate to admit it," Vali pointed out, "but Freed has a point. It is good possible that they are following us. So we shouldn´t waste any time. We will continue this later," she told Issei with a meaningful smile.

"Do you have the information?" he asked her.

"What do you think? Of course we do," she replied smugly.

Some time ago, the resistance had found out about a secret project that the Emperor - as the Mao of the Erebos Demons was calling himself - was working on. This project, according to the rumors, was meant to give him even greater power than he already possessed. Something that - if it was actually true - they knew they needed to prevent at all costs.

 **xxxxxxx**

 _Many hundreds of miles away_

In the center of the former human town Kyoto - that was now the capital of the occupied Japan - was standing a giant dark palace, that overshadowed the rest of the town... just like the Demons and their Fallen Angel allies - that meant the ones of the Fallen who still actually supported the regime - overshadowed the still existing humans and hiding Yokai in the country.

Here however, at the place that the Erebos Demons had decided to raise up their capital, humans and japanise Yokai not longer existed. The former citizens had all either chased away or killed as the Demons took over centuries ago.

And since then, none of the actual natives had dared to set foot in the town again.

And the towering palace that was the center of the Empire of the Demon-Fallen Angel alliance, had literally been build on the remains of the former city.

It was then, as a wide Magic Circle lighted up on the ground on the large place in front of the entrance of the palace... and a very important `guest´ of the Emperor appeared - surrounded by an half dozen heavily armed guards - his most important ally in this world.

It was an incredible attractive - seemingly young looking (but everyone who knew her was aware that she was all but young, but simply possessed eternal `youth´ and beauty) - blonde haired woman. She had a deceptively cute and innocent looking face.

But she was clad in an incredible lasziv low-cut black dress, that showed off most of her cleavage and her incredible large breasts. She was also wearing a knee-lomg black leather skirt, with a long slit, that completely exposed her long legs whenever she was walking.

She was Gabriel - the leader of the Grigori and the Fallen Angel forces - or, as she was also often called, the `Queen of the Fallen´.

 **xxxxxxx**

Meanwhile Issei, Vali and their small team were by now halfway back out of the town.

They didn´t dare to transport themselves back to their base, in case their enemies managed to track them. So they would make the most of the way on foot.

As it turned out however, their suspicions had been completely correct.

"Stand down rebels," they heard a voice... and found themselves suddenly surrounded by a group of a dozen Erebos Demons and three Fallen Angels.

"So they were truly following us," Vali stated.

They sensed the power their opponents were radiating. Unless some of them were hiding their strength - and Issei doubted that they would see reason to, given the situation - none of them was stronger than middle-class.

None of the Fallen possessed more than four wings.

In short, these guys were simply no match for them.

"Surrender," the leader of the group of Demons ordered, "you are surrounded and outnumbered."

"Surrender?" Issei asked with a grin, exchanging a short look - first with Vali - then with the others.

"Obviously they don´t know who we are," Freed stated sarcastically, as he draw his gun and his comrades started to power-up.

* * *

 **Like it was said, this story is technically a spin-off of `Issei Hyoudou: the Guardian´ and plays completely in one of the parallel worlds it had introduced.**

 **The `Erebos Demons´ are also a group of villians I had invited for Guardian.**

 **So this story is an complete AU to the regular DxD world. As it was seen, many characters are actually the complete opposite of their canon counterparts.  
**

 **Like in many other stories, Vali is female here. I had actually been requested by one of my readers to write a Issei x female Vali story.  
**

 **Issei´s codename here `Red Shadow´, has of course nothing to do with Ronin2106´s story `Crimson Shadow´. That is just coincidence.**

 **I don´t owe Highschool DxD or anything related to it.**


	2. Chapter 2: Project Rebirth

**Chapter 2**

The fight between the two groups had begun. If you could even call it a fight.

Issei and Vali had by now nearly simultanously activated their Sacred Gears. Even before their personal feelings for each other, they had always been a good team during the times they had to work together. Despite - or possible even because - of their rivalry.

The strike team of Demons and Fallen Angels that had them surrounded, showed no visible reaction... at least not yet.

They probably didn´t even realize which two Sacred Gears they were dealing with here.

But even if they didn´t knew it, they had already lost this battle before the first shot had even been fired. With other words, they never had a chance at all.

`Draig?´ Issei thought silently.

 **[Yes, let us start Partner,]** the Dragon replied in his mind.

 **xxx**

Issei was boosting his own power... while at the same time Vali weakened the strength of one of the three opponents she was facing and transfering half of it into herself. Not that it made much of a difference, since these guys were simply no match for her anyway.

This were the functions of the Boosted and the Dividing Gear - techniques originally invented by the Dragons they had been created from. But neither ot the two was using their Balance Breaker... so far. Something that of course they were both capable of.

They were still holding back a lot. The main reason was that they didn´t want to draw any stronger group of enemies to their position... but also because these guys, to be honest, were simply not worth it.

Freed was already taking on one of the Fallen Angels. Kuroka blasted two Demons away, while at the same time she created a Magic Circle as shield before Issei.

This group of enemies here clearly didn´t know who they were dealing with. Otherwise they wouldn´t have dared to go against them without back-up in the first place. And Issei and the others saw no reason to tip them off about it early.

Moments later Vali´s first opponent had already been disintigrated by her power.

Issei´s face showed a small smile as he watched his girlfriend fighting. She was good at it, very good, he knew.

This powers were something he had experienced himself first hand quite often.

In the beginning they had a couple of more or less serious fights. Okay, in opposite to other Red and White Emperors before them, they had never actually tried to kill each other.

 **xxx**

In fact, Issei remembered - the first thing Vali had done at their first meeting, was to challenge him to a fight. Much to the dismay of everyone else present, since they were both already part of the resistence... and nobody was happy about senseless fights between their members. Not to mention that a clash between two powers like their had the risk to draw unwanted `attention´ to them.

The White Dragon Emperor, he had already been told before, had the reputation of a battle maniac, and he could see why.

Yes, he had known about the rivalry between their Dragons. But was this truly a reason to ask an ally - a fellow resistance member - to fight her, as the first thing after meeting?

But in the end Vali got her way and they had a duel. Of course they first teleported in a greater distance to their base, to not endanger their HQ and the settlement close by.

Issei might have been reluctant at first. But that didn´t mean he didn´t take the challenge serious... Or that he didn´t **enjoy** the fight.

He admitted someone like Vali was exactly what he needed to push himself even further and become as strong as he needed to be for their fight.

That Vali was a hot pretty girl with a great set of breasts didn´t hurt the matter either.

True, he always had a thing for girls and especially their chests - hell, he had somewhat of a full blown fetish for them - but he never let it overcome his reason, especially in battle. For that he had already lost too much and seen too many people die.

At one time, the thought came into his mind how it would have been if he lived in some bizarre alternate world, where Vali was a man. Would they have killed each other? Or would they have become some kind of friends at one point? But he pushed this strange thoughts out of his mind very quickly. He was more than happy with the Vali he had, thank you.

As they, right after their first fight, had started to actually talk with each other, instead of just exchanging taunts and challenged - he soon found out that they had much in common. They both were fighters, they both were constantly working to improve themselves and gain more power... and their reasons were similar, the things they had gone through in their childhood, the pain they had felt, the people they lost... the wish to free this land and this world from the tyrants that were terrorising it - and revenge.

He understood why she had turned into such a person - a battle maniac, like people called it.

Yes, it was truly a surprise that, in their supposedly greatest rival, they had both found the person who understood them best.

That he also found her attractive as hell was only a bonus.

Their first fight had actually ended in a draw, the second with a close victory for Vali. But she herself admitted, it could have turned out the other way around.

This were their two only actually serious battles. The others since then had more been sparring matches.

Well, maybe you could have called the third one to, at least the beginning. If not for the fact that Vali had broken the fight off halfway through and started to kiss him... and they ended up having sex instead.

That was about the time their relationship became serious.

But that didn´t mean that they weren´t still regulary fighting each other, even if it was not longer to cause actual harm. That part came along with being the Red- and the White Dragon Emperor. Even with the feelings they had developed for each other, the rivalry between their Dragons still lived in them.

Of course their relationship however, had not been the only reason why their harder fight had not lived on. It were also purely practical reason. They were **both** parts of the resistance that was in war with the Erebos Empire. And personal feuds with each other, were something their group just couldn´t effort.

Regular training matches however were. So they still had their regular friendly fights and contests. it was just not longer at life and death... if it had even ever been.

 **xxx**

For the moment Kuroka was still shielding Issei from incoming attacks. Not that he truly needed it.

Issei was more than able to deal with opponents like this by himself if needed. He and Vali were the top fighters in their combined group after all, closely followed by Kuroka herself.

Issei needed neither help or protection against opponents like this.

No, it was part of one of the tactics the members of both Issei´s and Vali´s teams had trained. Kuroka was just giving him some time. It gave him more time to perform a few more boosts, to power himself up higher and higher, like right now... and then he unleashed a single attack.

Issei fired a massive blast, that instantly disintigrated two of the Demons hanging in the air above them and gazed another one, who fell crashing down to the Earth.

Yes, it was exactly the kind of manouver they had been training the entire time.

"Good work Kuroka," he said.

"The same to you Issei," she replied.

Freed had meanwhile outmanovered and struck down his first opponent. It might have only been a relatively weak low-level Fallen, but it was still a Fallen Angel. His skills were truly impressive, even if he was surrounded by incredible powerful beings like them, they all knew.

A second later he had already faced the next one, this time a Demon and was trading blows with him.

 **xxx**

Kuroka had now fully joined the battle as well, formed a new pair of magic circles in the air and send her own attacks at the group of Demons and Fallen, who was still trying to engage them. Like the rest of them, she was taking on more than one enemy at once.

Her last blast shot down another Demon. Part of his body had been burned away and the rest fell lifeless to the ground.

With a grin, Issei turned his attention to another opponent. This one was a Fallen Angel. A tall battle hardened looking man with two feathered wings on his back. But the power he radiated was nothing that would even remotely impress him.

The Fallen landed a few meters right in front of him, formed two light-spears in his hands and made a challenging gesture to him.

Issei responded... he moved with his full speed and landed a hard punch on him, that send his opponent to the ground. The Fallen tried to take another strike at him. But before he could, Issei had already materialized his own blade - a Holy Sword - in his hand, and stabbed it through his opponent´s chest.

Issei hated to fight Fallen Angels. Not because he had so much sympathy for that particular race. No, he didn´t judge people by their species, but by their actions.

But it was known to them by now, that there was a secret resistance movement going on under the Grigory. A group that opposed the Erebos and their reign of terror... and their own leaders, who were collaborating with them.

For obvious reasons however, their entire movement was kept so secret, that not even their silent allies from the `official´ rebellion of the humans and Yokai species knew who was involved and who exactly was leading them.

So every time he or his comrades killed a Fallen, they couldn´t be sure that they hadn´t just killed a secret ally.

`I truly hope that you had not been on our side,´ he thought silently.

A few seconds later, it was over. The few members of the enemy group who were still alive had finally decided to see reason and flee. Or maybe it had to do with the fact that the last guy Vali had blasted to ashes, seemed to be a bit stronger than the other members of their team. So it was possible that he had been the leader.

"It seems we have done it," Freed commented.

"Please, you know perfectly well that this was never more than a warm-up," Kuroka stated.

"But we should not be standing around here needlessly," Issei added. "Even if this guys were weaklings, there is no guaranty that they won´t lead anyone stronger to us sooner or later... and we have our mission to finish.

We have no time for needless fight... that goes for you too Vali," he added smirking.

"You know me too well my love," she purred with a smirk.

 **xxxxxxx**

The remaining - that meant the few surviving - members of the combined Demon-Fallen Angel group had returned to their local base after their encounter with Issei and the others.

It was a humiliating return, in every sense of the word.

A single female Erebos Demon, who had been part of that group - a young woman with deep brown hair, looking around 20 - thought back about what had happened.

First there had been their report to the base commander, who was more than a little bit displeased at what he heard. Something what the entire rest of their combined group had done together, since their teamleader - the idiot who had ordered the entire attack on a group of unknown Sacred Gear users - had been killed during the short fight.

This had most likely actually been his luck, otherwise he would have probably been publicy disgraced and executed for his incompetence and stupidity.

Not to mention that she would have liked nothing more than to strangle him to death herself for that blunder.

It didn´t take them long for their superiors to realize who exactly their group had been fighting against. Two trained Longinus users - even worse, the two Dragon Emperors - or Red and White Shadow, as they were also called. Two of the most infamous fighters the rebels had.

They were lucky that even a few of them were still alive.

Their fool of a group-leader had just blindly dragged them into a fight with two of the most dangerous beings on this planet.

But at least she **did** return - that was more than the greatest part of her team could say.

It ended up with their leader being posthumely being stripped of his rank and his status and they all given a harsh warning not to make the same mistakes he did.

Oh and one good thing. **She** was now the group-leader, since she was the highest ranked under the few who got away. Now all she had to do was recruit a new team, since beside her, only five others had made it.

Her name was Serina - a member of the Quarinah family. One very prestigious and old clan of Erebos Demons. And that meant?... well, actually very little right now as it looked like, she admitted to herself.

Their group had been decimated - destroyed, by a small group of rebels - consisting of two humans, a halfling and a Yokai. And they were supposed to be the `most superior race´ on the face of the world.

It was a disgrace - well, at least not completely. At least their loss had been against two of the most powerful Sacred Gear users. So it was at least somewhat justified.

She remembered the lessons she had learned since her early childhood. The mantra they all lived by.

 **xxx**

The natural hierarchy of the races was clear.

They, the Erebos Demons, were the highest beings in their universe. Only rivalled by the Angels, their equals and opposite. Created by the great enemy - the one who opposed the Great Darkness that had spawned all Demons - himself, God. They were meant to stand against them.

That was also the reason why the Fallen were to be treated as respected allies, aside from being useful. They were Angels after all. Angels who had broken away from their creator´s teachings and were now free of his corrupting influence.

Then, below them, were Yokai, Vampires and all other kinds of lower supernatural beings and Yokai. They were lesser beings than them, but could still be useful as servants or low ranked fighters - if they were recruited. Otherwise their existence was simply being tolerated. As long as they didn´t stood in the way of the Erebos or their allies interests.

The lowest of the low were the Halfbreeds - or `Devils´ as this disgusting spawn once dared to call themselves. They were nothing but a failure, born by their ancestors decadence. They were to be, if possible, to be eridicated from all known worlds.

The humans were a special case. Most supernatural races considered them the weakest. But the Erebos knew better.

Humanity was actually known to be the race that God favored most. And that for good reason. The truth was humans possessed just as much potential as the other species. A human could, if he only inherited some kind of talent for it, just as easily become an Exorcist or a Sorcerer. And that without any of the elemental weaknesses that many supernatural races possessed.

Their potential was just, in most cases, dormant and far harder to access. While most supernatural beings were simply born with the ability to use their powers.

The Erebos sometimes speculated about why the `Great Enemy´ had given his favored creation such an obvious handicap. Some believed that it was one of God´s typical moves to test their `character or resolve´ or something.

Others thought, even more ridiculous, that God had not wanted them to be `corrupted´ by power and stay peaceful and innocent. That had certainly turned out well, if it truly had been what the Creator had been intending. Everyone knew that humans were just as war-like when any of the supernatural species had ever been.

Who knows what in the world God had been thinking as he created them like this. Humans were as they were. And they were probably lucky about it, since so few of them were an actual threat. Otherwise their position on top of the food-chain might not have been so secure right now.

 **xxx**

But Serena had experienced and was intelligent enough to realize that a lot of this dogma that they were preaching was just pure bullshit.

In truth the Erebos didn´t treat humans with any more respect than any of the other supernatural races did. They were actually hunting them for sport from time to time quite often.

And let not even talk about how many of her kind actually saw the Angels or the Fallen as equals.

Many Demons she knew saw the Fallen Angels as not much more than lackies or tools. That was at least how they talked about them when they were under themselves.

In some quiet moments, she even felt the question rise up inside her, how much the fact that the Halfbreed´s place on the lowest level was not based on their actual lack of worth, but simply out of petty resentment over the fact that their ancestory had lost against theirs in the Ancient War and were force into exil...

... And crushed those thought as quickly as they came. Her other doubts and critic might been justifiable, but thoughts like this were heresy on the highest level.

During their long exil the hatred of their impure cousins had become something like the core of their entire society. It would have been **more** tolerable to publicy mock and insult the Emperor (something that would earn you an instant death sentence), than to say the slightest positive thing about them.

Serena remembered all these history lessons her parents had thought her. How the halfbreeds had stolen the Underworld from them, how they were weak and corrupt and had only been able to defeat them because they had allied themselves with Fallen Angels and human - species far more worthy than them - and ruined them as well by interbreeding with them even further.

How the so called Devils had erased the memory of them from history and lived as a race of pretenders, claiming to be the true natives of the Underworld.

How their betrayed and beaten ancestors had fled into another dimension and only survived by their own strength and determination. (Ophis could have told her a different story here though.)

She admitted she herself wasn´t completely sure how much of these tales were actually accurate and how much was just propaganda.

But she also remembered something else. She thought about the time when her parents had brought her down into the dungeons of their family estate, into a cell where she was met with a shackled female halfbreed slave.

Her parents had first ordered her to whip the `Devil´ with a leash. And she had done it. She had known all to well to always follow her parents words.

First she hadn´t struch the girl that hard, until her mother had ordered her to do it harder... and she obeyed.

The girl before her started to scream and beg her to stop. But she continued. She wanted to be a good daughter after all. And it was only a Devil.

After 20 leashes, her father told her it was enough.

At first she thought it was over, but then she saw him pulling a dagger out of his pocket and held it to her.

He told her to cut the grils throat. She didn´t really wanted to do it. But she knew if she didn´t, it would have meant a harsh punishment, so she did.

The young Serena had learned something in that night, something that no child ever wanted to know - but it was a lesson that all children of the Demons learned at one point:... they were not the good guys. They never were. The opposite, they were cruel and evil. They were terrible and merciless. But as a child, it had often been all too easy to oversee this.

It was something that she had deep down always known, because they had never truly been hiding it. No, they accepted it and were proud of it. They were creatures of darkness and in opposite to their degenerated cousins, they weren´t hiding behind false maks of `civilization´ and `benevolence´. T

But she also learned another even more valuable lesson, as she looked at the bleeding and dieing body of the Devil girl. It was better to be at the side of evil, than to be one of it´s victims.

 **xxxxxxx**

 _New Kuoh_

Meanwhile Issei, Vali and their team had just returned to the secret settlement where their base was located close to.

At the first look, you could nearly mean it was nothing more that a village or a small town. Citizens were on the streets, doing their daily business.

But this town was all but normal. For once there was the fact that this entire place was being shielded by a strong magical ward. And there was also the fact that the population of the town consisted, besides humans, also of a large number of Yokai and even a few Devils.

"Issei-kun, Vali-san," they were greeted by a pair of teenagers - a boy, a bit taller than Issei, with very short cut hair - it was nearly looking as if he was bald and a small girl with long pinkish hair. They both were about his own age.

It were Issei´s old friend Matsuda and his girlfriend Katase.

"It´s good to see you are back," he greeted the team. "Was it very dangerous, are you lucky that you actually managed to survive?" Matsuda asked him with a teasing grin.

"Yes, we thought you and your girlfriend had finally managed to get yourself killed and that we had to organize your burial," Katase fell in, with a similar grin on her face.

Issei admitted this two fitted together perfectly. For once they had the same sarcastic sense of humor. In another world however, they would have most likely killed each other, just like himself and Vali.

A smirk formed on his own face.

"Oh, I didn´t have any problems. Vali however had nearly been killed by one of the Demons. I have to move in and save her like her knight in shinin...autch." She had just elbowed him into the side.

"Tell you fantasies to someone who is stupid enough to believe them," she told him. "It was nice to see you as well Matsuda and Katase. But now we have to leave. We have still work to do... and beside that, if I see any more of you, I will possibly kill you."

This caused only a laugh from the two teenagers.

Issei and Matsuda had known each other since they were young children. Just like him, both their families had once lived in Old Kuoh, until it had been destroyed. They had also been friends with another boy for some time, a bespactacled boy named Motohama.

But Motohama had died a few years ago, during one of the raids of the Demons. He had simply been at the wrong place at the wrong time.

He and the others continued on their way. On their way they met a few children who were cheering to them. To the children of the small town, Issei, Vali and the others were heroes. They were the ones fighting the monsters who they were afraid of in the night. Monsters that - how they all knew - actually existed.

After a short visit in the settlement, they would met up with the rest of their resistance cell, to examine the information they had discovered.

So far they had only seen a few lines of the content. It said it was about some kind of secret project, known so far only under the highest ranks of the Empire - something called: `Project Rebirth.´

"I see you have finally made it," they were greeted, as they met with two of the other members of their cell, two young women - a pair of sisters.

It was the slightly older looking of the two who had addressed them. Their appearance however didn´t mean anything about their true ages, since they were both Devils.

"Do you have it," the second one, a bespectacled girl with shoulder long dark hair greeted them. She and her sister, beside their hair color, also shared the same violett colored eyes.

"We do," Issei responded. "Are you ready to take a look at it?"

"Of course, this is the reason you four travelled across half of Japan after all," she said.

This two were Sona and Serafall Sitri. Like so many others, they had arrived here as refugees years ago. Serafall was also one of the currently the strongest member of their entire organization - even if many believed that Issei and Vali might surpass her very soon.

She was a Satan class Devil, one of only a few -maybe the only one - who had survived the holocaust.

 **xxxxxxx**

 _Imperial Palace of the Erebos Empire - Kyoutou_

She had just been led into the imposant throne-room by the guards. The very attractive and lasciviously clad leader of the Fallen Angels was now face to face with her old ally.

"I see you could make it," Dagon, the Emperor of the Erebos race greeted her, "my dear," he added in a friendly voice.

The Erebos Emperor had the appearance of a young man with long black hair, despite that he was far over thousand years old.

On the first look he could have easily been mistaken for a dark haired version of the long dead Devil Sirzechs Gremory (who would have in another world risen to the rank of Devil King under the title Lucifer), like he also ressembled him in power and potential.

Of course the ruler of the Erebos would have been more than insulted about this comparison. And would have propably executed whoever had mentioned it.

"I wouldn´t think about missing out an invitation of my most important and `closest´ ally," she said smoothly. "Now, may I ask why you have called me, besides that you wanted to see me of course."

"You have not changed at all Gabriel," Dagon replied.

"Would you want me to my dear?" she said.

He only laughed.

"I am sure you can already make a guess why I have called you."

"Ohh... has it anything to do with this secret project you and your men are working on?" she quipped `innocently´.

Her outer appearance - aside from the provocative dress - was in fact that of a incredible beautiful blonde, cute, young girl of maybe eighteen or nineteen... a picture of pure innocence.

But this wasn´t the truth. It had not been true for thousands of years. Beneath it, she was cold, cruel and absolutely immorally.

"You know a lot Gabriel," Dagon stated tonelessly.

"This is my duty as leader of my race, isn´t it?" she asked playfully.

"Maybe. But so much knowledge can also be dangerous, wouldn´t you agree?" he questioned. "So it is good that I can **completly** trust you. I **can** trust you, right?

"Of course you can," she said to him warmly. "What can I do to proof my trustworthiness to you?"

"Oh, I am sure there is enough you can do." He kissed her roughly and begann to grab her large breasts.

 **xxx**

A short time later they both were inside and imposant looking bed-chamber that was part of Dagon´s personal quarter, that were just a few meters away from the throne room.

They both were on the bed.

Gabriel had removed most of her clothes. She was only still wearing her black stockings on her long legs and her bra was hanging loosly around her chest, with her breasts hanging free.

Beneath her was the completely naked body of Dagon. For a moment she moaned loudly as she was riding him with his manhood was moving inside her.

This continued for another minute, until he turned both of them around, pulled out of her. And them bend her over on all fours and started fucking her roughly from behind.

Gabriel needed a few seconds to get used to it, before she started moaning again.

She and Dagon were allies. They had been for a thousand years. Together they had brought down the Devils and forced Heaven and the Church from East Asia. Together the Grigori and the Erebos Demons became the strongest force in this world.

It wasn´t as if she loved him or anything foolish like that. But she admitted he was very attractive and very good in this. She truly like doing it with him.

Beside that however, it was also true that he was her most valuable ally. Their bond Erebos Demons not only gave the Fallen the absolute edge over their old enemies, it also secured her own position as the leader of the Grigori.

So if Dagon desired her body, she was happy to give it to him from time to time to strengthen their alliance. She was not naive enough to think that just the fact that he was fucking her was causing Dagon to completely trust her. But if it made him only the slightest bit more attached to her, it made it more than worth it.

If she was honest, she would gladly whore out half of the females of her race to satisfy the lust of the entire nobility of the Demons, if it meant cementing their partnership with them. It wasn´t as if most of them wouldn´t enjoy it. It wasn´t as if she wasn´t enjoying **this**.

She cried out as she came and felt how Dagon released his seed inside her. If they continued like this, there was a chance that she would get pregnant with a half-bread child. She had no problem with this thought though.

Giving birth to a child of the Emperor, half-bread or not, could only be useful to her future plans.

If inside of her, a part of the old Gabriel could have seen her now - if she had still existed - she would have realized how disgusting her thoughts were. She would have been horrified. But this girl was long gone.

She could still remember the time when her innocence had been real so long ago. As she had first asked to be chosen as the leader of the Watchers - the Grigori - on Earth and both Azazel and God had agreed to her pleas.

Earth and the human race had fascinated her.

But after a she and the others had spend a few years on Earth, she and the others leaders had discovered that a few of their ranks had started to have sex... and in one or two cases even relationships with human women.

But it had been known to all of them that God had forbidden such relations.

Had it just been their subordinates, it would have been a simple case of disciplining them and let God decide to either accept them back or banish them from Heaven as Fallen forever.

But as they found out, it were also some of their fellow leaders who were involved with humans. Much to her shock, Gabriel found out that even her younger sister Penemue was part of them and having sex with human men, like the other had with the females.

But it was not only sex. Shemhazai and a few other had started to get directly involved into the humans life, they were meant to `observe´. They created tools for them, plans, but soon also weapons, that they could use against their enemies.

That sometimes meant Devils, who often invaded their world. It had actually been one of the original purposes of the Grigori to protect Earth from them. That purpose however had mostly been forgotten as they became more and more corrupted.

In the most cases however, it only meant other humans - their neighbors.

All of the ones who had gone rogue had already lost their Divine Protection and turned into Fallen at this point. She remembered her shock as she first saw Penemue and Shemhazai with black wings.

And worse, the rogue leaders didn´t seem to accept hers or even God´s judgement. They argued that they should be free to have sex with or love whoever they wanted. That they should live with them and become part of their societies, instead to just watch them (or become their masters, as some more critical voices stated). That the humans had been given the same freedom and that it was unfair... and they convinced more and more of the Watchers to follow their example... even herself.

It was Penemue who had `convinced´ her, by having sex with a human right in front of her. At first she protested, but then she had watched in fascination... and finally more and more growing curiosity and lust, as she heard Penemue moan and shout in pure pleasure as the man was moving inside her.

Finally she could not longer take it - for a short moment she felt how her Divine Protection was being stripped from her as her lust overcame her completely and her own wings turned black - but it was quickly overriden by the complete lust she was feeling.

She just pushed the other female Angel aside and off the human, took her place on top of him, forces herself into him and rode him even harder than Penemue did, until he came inside her.

Afterwards she held it against Penemue for some time that she had essentially caused her fall. But they made up quickly and begann to seduce human men together.

But all that wasn´t what had caused her true step into the abyss.

No, that was an event nearly one year later.

Two human men - both of them had shown their interest in Gabriel, but neither was willing to share - were involved in a fierce sword-duel, fighting each other over her.

She knew she should have ended the fight - before one of them go killed. But... if she was honest with herself, she felt... flattered. She **liked** the fact that they were willing to fight and kill each other for her. It made her feel beautiful.. and powerful.

So she did something else. She **encouraged** them to kill the other, to shed his blood for her. She even promised that she would fullfil the winner every single wish for the rest of the night.

As the fight had finally ended and the victor was standing over the dead body of his opponent, with his blood splattered on him, she didn´t waste a single moment and took the human into her personal rooms and fucked him until he could not longer stand.

A few of the others however, like Shemhazai and Baraquiel, were horrified at the bloody display. A few even questioned her leadership.

As Shemhazai confronted her about it, she only answered smugly to her Second in Command, that he was in no position to critisize her for the death of one human, while he manufactured weapons that killed hundreds.

It was around the same time, that God finally lost his patience with them and declared all of the banished from Heaven forever.

It was directly after a few of their leaders had the `brilliant´ idea to build weapons for two neighboring cities, who then a short time later started a battle with each other that killed thousands.

As it became more and more clear that Heaven would not longer tolerate them on Earth, they decided to make themselves a home in the Underworld instead. But that only led to more conflict with the Devils.

A short time later the Great War was breaking out.

 **xxxxxxx**

But that was a long time ago.

Now Gabriel was one of the two rulers of the Underworld and of Japan, one of the two leaders of the strongest Faction in the supernatural world.

... And soon she would be much more.

Dagon had now told her about his `secret project´.

"We have an ally," he said. "He is a being that far surpassed our races or our feeble Supernatural World. We came into contact with him a couple of years ago. He had been weakened, stripped of his physical form.

But soon he will rise again. And I will share his power. With his help I will become invincible, allmighty. I will be far more than even a god. I will rule not only this world, but countless others... and you will be my Queen."

 **xxxxxxx**

 _New Kuoh, secret rebel base_

At the same time Issei, Vali and the other members of their rebel group were viewing the contents of the information they had stolen.

"Okay, by what I am reading here, the Erebos seem to have some kind of secret ally or agent," Sona told them. "I don´t really see more details about him here - except a name: `Galid´. But that also seems to be some sort of code-name. Nothing else, only that he is somehow involved into this Project Rebirth. But here is no clear answer what exactly it is either."

"Is that everything?" Vali asked, visibly annoyed.

"Of course not," Sona replied. "There is also something alse." Her voice suddenly became quieter and somehow shaken.

"What?" Issei asked her. "Sona, tell me, what is it?"

"There is a section in the data called `Life Sacrifices´," she said.

Everyone around froze as they heard this.

"... And as it looks, most of this sacrifices are Devils," she added.

* * *

 **I have finally finished the second chapter.**

 **By what I have seen, second chapters of stories are often under the hardest to write, since you have now to develope more details over the ground-idea you had.**

 **This chapter has given more details about the alternate version of Issei and (female) Vali. But also about the history of the Fallen Gabriel and it introduced this world´s versions of Sona and Serafall.**

 **The two Erebos Demons Dagon and Serena are OCs, of course, since I have invited this race. Quarinah is the name of an actual Demon.**

 **While the Devils are named after the Ars Goetica, the Erebos are having in first line the names of ancient pre-christian demons.**

 **The next story to be updated will probably be `A false Image´. But I am also working on the next chapters of Gods of Darkness and Dragonball Timelines.**


	3. Chapter 3: Preparations

**Chapter 3**

It was now one day ago that the resistance group had started to analyse the data they had taken from the secret facility of the Erebos Demons.

What they had found out so far had drawn a terrifying picture.

They still had no real knowledge who this `Galid´ character, who was mentioned in the information, exactly was. The only thing they could tell from the data was that he was seemingly some kind of powerful entity not from this world. Maybe it came from the Dimensional Gap, maybe... from a completely different place.

An entity who was seemingly in an alliance with the Erebos... or more specifically the Emperor Dagon himself.

That meant they had another foe out there. One they knew nothing about. And who was working directly with the ruler of the enemy.

To that came the fact that the data suggested that `Galid´ was actually a code-name, given to the being by the Emperor. That meant they could not even try to research it and find out about the identity of the creature on their own.

But one thing was clear from what they found out... If the plans of the Erebos about this `Project Rebirth´ were continued, then countless imprisoned and enslaved Devils would loose their lives very soon.

The information simply called it `Life sacrifices´ or euphemistically `Ressources´... a large number of them, for something only called `The Ritual´.

The vague descriptions of what was going to happen alone send shivers down Issei´s neck.

There were mentionings of: _"... Ressourses being bound in the center of the Magic Circles"..._ _ _"Life Energy of the subjects serving as fuel for the process."..._ "Lord Galid will be reborn "... access to never known power"... "Joined forces."... "Complete destruction of our enemies."  
_

... and a number... 2975... **2975** was that? Issei had red the line again, since he could at first not believe it.

Yes, there was no doubt, it was the intended number of victims of this ritual. There were even mentions how they would be gathered from different places over the Empire.

To _`prevent the number of slaves to drop to drastically in a single region of the Empire.´_ Yes, that was actually written there. Bastards.

Sona and Serafall had also been more than furious as they red this. Their entire group had been, but none of them nearly as much as the two Devils. Their race was already heavily decimated and in the threat of extinction for generations... and now **they** planned to kill so many of the few who remained for some insane shit?

Issei had always known that the Erebos were twisted... but this? This was madness. To sacrifice thousands of lives just like that.

But for what exactly? What purpose exactly would this ritual serve? that was the question. A question that they knew they were not able to answer right now.

The rest of the text was full of obvious code-words and avoided any direct mentionings of the time, the place or the entire purpose of the operation.

Still, there was at least something they could do.

They knew it would be impossible to save all the intended victims. Not when Devil slaves were spread all over the Erebos territory and they didn´t even knew for sure where this ritual was going to take place. But maybe they could at least rescue a few. By targeting one of the locations where the the largest numbers of slaves were gathered.

So their next mission was about to start soon. Their main target was one of the largest of the prisoner camps in the empire. Such camps existed across their entire territory... or at least in the Demon reigned parts of the Erebos-Grigori Alliance.

It was a decision that had been made through a vote by the entire group. A plan was made to try to save at least some of the intended victims of the massacred - a rescue operation.

It was already clear that Issei´s and Vali´s teams would take part in the operation, since they were their two most successful strike-teams.

But for that they would need to infiltrate the Underworld, where this camps were located.

Even calling it a `prisoner camp´ however was actually more of a euphemism. It was a giant **slave**... or maybe a **death** camp, plain and simple. At places like this, many of the surviving Devils were being forced to work for their conquerors. And quite often they were so worked to death in the process.

While at least some - that meant the more decent ones - of their Fallen Angel allies might be keeping the Erebos from downright commiting straight mass genocide on the Devil race, it didn´t mean that they wouldn´t find `creative´ ways to get as many of them killed as possible anyway.

 **xxxxxxx**

The camp in question was located close to the city of Baal-Hamon, one of the largest `newer´ towns in the Erebos territory of the Underworld. Newer meant in this case that it had been founded after the Erebos had reconquered the Underworld, instead of already existing before under Devil rule.

In fact, the town was not far away from the place where the old Devil capital of Lilith had been located centuries ago, before it had been completely eradicated. At the end of the Great War the former Underworld capital had been razed to the ground and the remaining ruins left standing as an eternal reminder... and as a memorial of the Erebos victory.

For the surviving Devils and even other races, however it only became a memorial of their enemies never ending malice and cruelty.

In some distance to the ruins however a new town had been founded by the new (and very old) masters of the Underworld and their Fallen Angel allies. Over the years it had grown into one of the largest settlement of the Demon civilization that had replaced the Devil´s one.

So in a sense you could say Baal-Hamon replaced Lilith in it´s place in the Underworld, just like the Erebos as a whole replaced the Devils. The town was also the location of one of the largest strongholds of their military forces.

 **xxx**

One thing was clear. This would not be going as `easily´ as their regular missions.

Not that this missions were normally that easy anyway. But **here** , here it was pretty much **guarantied** that they would come very close to an entire army of elite troops.

Even worse, the governor of the place where the camp was located, was said to be a Satan-level Demon. That meant one or two of his officers should be Ultimate Class fighters as well.

 **If** they were caught in the act of freeing the prisoners, the resulting battle would be more than hard.

But on the other side, there was the possibilty to free hundreds of enslaved Devils, Devils of that many would possibly be eager about a chance to fight back against their oppressors. Some of them might even decide to join them. That would mean the chance for a good boost in strength for their rebellion.

 **If** they managed to free them. There was also the chance that they would fail and in the worst case, the entire group attacking the prisoner camp could be annihilated.

Some of them had even questioned if they should try it at all.

He remembered Vali´s reaction to this had been to ask them sarcastically: `why they even had a rebellion in the first place... if they didn´t actuallly rebel?´

He truly loved this girl. But sometimes even he thought she was too cocky for her own good.

Out of all of them, she was actually the only one crazy enough to actually **looking out** for the chance to fight a Satan Class Demon and his minions. Others, to be honest any sane person, would just be scared to face someone like this. Vali was scared as well... to some level. But she was also **happy** about it.

They had talked about it quite often. Not that she hadn´t openly declared it at any chance anyway. She loved to fight powerful opponents - as powerful as possible. She craved it.

In some other world, he thought sometimes sarcastically, she could have easily been a guy. Issei had to say, he was more than happy that she was not.

It was the one part of her personality he had taken long to understand. Still over time, he had come not only to accept Vali´s fighting spirit - most would call it battle fanatism - but even to appreciate it.

She **was** crazy, at least somewhat. But the truth was, someone like her was exactly what they all needed.

For their entie lives, their homeland, Japan and great parts of Eastern Asia were being occupied by Demons. That was a terrifying reality.

Freedom and control of the land they lived in was only a faint dream for the humans in this land. Having someone like Vali around - someone who seemed to laugh about the impossible odds and actually enjoy the challenges - in some strange way, this was actually helping their group. Maybe crazy was exactly what they needed.

At least that was what it looked like on the outside. But Issei knew better. There was also another side of her. One that she kept hidden inside for the most part. But he had seen it, the other side of Vali.

He remembered of of the last serious duels they had with each other. It had been their second last fight, before the one that ended up with them sleeping together for the first time.

 **xxxxxxx**

 _Three months earlier_

Both Dragon Emperors were standing before each other, breathing heavily. They both were just dematerializing their Balance Breaker armors.

"It was a good fight," Issei said to her.

"Then why are you stopping?" Vali asked him a bit irritated. "Or are you afraid that you will loose this time?" she grinned confidently.

"With the level of power we release Kuroka and Shirone might have trouble keeping the barrier up. And the we risk being detected," he answered.

"You think we could be detected?" Vali stated, starting to smile. "Well, maybe that wouldn´t be so bad, right? You know Issei-kun, our matches are great... but a real life and death fight is something else. What do you think are the chances they have someone strong close by?"

"Vali, stop it," Issei said.

This made her pause for a moment. She admitted she was surprised to hear Issei talking like that to her.

"We both know that you would not go as far as to endanger our location to the enemy and put all our lives at danger, just to have one of your fights. You just like to put up the act and let everyone think that you are nothing but the hard-assed battle-hungry bitch you claim to be. Isn´t it like that?"

Vali´s eyes narrowed at him for a moment.

"So that is what you think about me?" she asked him sternly. "That I am putting up an act to everyone."

"To a part," he said. "I know you well enough to know that your desire to fight strong enemies is clearly real. But after all I have seen, I am also sure that sometimes... you, well, exaggerate - make yourself look worse than you are. Because you just feel the need to look tough.

You would do a lot for a good fight. I know that. But I also know that you would never **knowingly** put any of the people who live here into danger. You are not as bad as you sometimes make yourself look."

She didn´t say anything for a few moments.

"Am I right?" he asked her.

"Maybe you are," she finally admitted a bit reluctantly. Issei realized that she actually seemed to be blushing a bit. "... And if you are right, if I am truly not as bad? Would you tell the others?"

"Of course not," he replied with a sly grin. "I would not want to destroy your carefully build up fassade, right?"

Vali gave him a smile in return.

 **xxxxxxx**

 _Now_

Their teams were ready. They had assembled together inside an empty house, that was serving as one of their smaller bases inside the town.

Issei´s and Vali´s would be spearheading the operation, together with Serafall Sitri, who was currently the strongest member of their resistance group. A third team would be backing them up.

Serafall however was not member of one of the official teams. She was actually one of the leaders of the entire local rebellion.

 **xxx**

The leadership of both, the New Kuoh settlement and the rebellion in this region, was shared between three persons - the Devil Serafall Sitri, the leader of the human population and Mayor of New Kuoh - Touji Shido, a former Exorcist of the Protestant Church.

He was also the father of an old childhood friend of Issei, who had however left Japan years ago. In fact it had been Touji himself who had send his child away, into the care of the Church... away from the terror and tyranny here.

The third leader was the representant of the small local Yokai community here. It was a position that Kuroka had been offered once, just based on the fact that she was the most powerful Yokai in the town. But she had refused, saying that she didn´t have any idea about politics and that others were far more suited for the role.

 **xxx**

Serafall was easily the most powerful fighter of the entire resistance in this region of Japan. In fact she was probably one of the most powerful surviving Devils.

Out of all of them, she was probably the only one who had any real hope to take on a Satan Class being - in this case Lord Meloch, the governor of the town in question - and win.

Even if they all believed that Issei and Vali - both are already possessing the power of Ultimate Class beings - would probably match or even surpass her in the visible future if they continued to improve on the rate they did.

But that was not now - not yet.

 **xxx**

Issei´s team consisting of himself, Sona - who acted as his second, Freed and Issei´s and Sona´s friend Tomoe Meguri.

The local rebel-group possessed currently six strike-teams of each four fighters, of that three would take part of the mission. They all knew the risks.

Vali´s team, with her, Kuroka, Shirone and Genshiro Saji, a Sacred Gear user whose family also came from old Kuoh, just like Issei´s own.

The leader of the third team was Rika Moritsugu, a Holy Sword weilder and former fighter for the Catholic Church. She had been an Exorcist in the rank of an Saint, before she decided to leave the service of the Church to join the resistance to fight for the freedom of her homeland Japan instead.

But they all knew this was only the half truth.

It was something that Rika had later trusted Touji, Serafall, Issei, Vali and the other team-leaders with in private. Her `leaving´ the Church was actually fake. She had been send here on a mission to assist the resistance in Japan. In opposite to Freed however, who acted as an offically contact to the Church, her mission was kept secret.

In opposite to his own and Vali´s team, Issei didn´t knew the members of Rika´s that well, mostly only their names.

Rika herself was, when she was not fighting, a nice girl and easy to go along with person, for the most part. She had however a great pride and trust in her own abilities, that could sometimes get the better of her and make her a bit arrogant. But that was only sometimes.

Like with each other, he and Vali were sparring with her often. And both of them considered her a friend.

"Is that all?" Kuroka asked as they all had heard the basic instruction for the mission.

"No," Touji answered. "There is one more thing. We are still waiting for someone. There is a chance that a few more people will join us. We have contacted our allies with the Church."

"And?" Issei asked.

"By what they said, they aren´t sure if they have someone available to assist us," Freed stated. "But they promised that they would try to send at least a few people." He smiled lightly and shrugged with the shoulders. "As you can imagine, a plan with the goal of rescuing Devils is not exactly high on the Church´s list of priorities."

"Of course," Sona commented cynically, "even if we are allies now."

"These damn fools," Serafall growled.

"Well, at least they might be sending someone," Vali stated. "Given that our plan is to save a bunch of Devils, that alone is something."

It was less than a half hour later as they finally heard a knock on the door.

As Shirone opened, they saw outside a trio of persons in grey cloaks.

"Come in," the Nekomata welcomed them a bit stoically.

None of them was actually exactly happy about the sight. Or more precisely about their number.

"Greetings. We are here on order of the Catholic and Protestant Churches to assist you in your planned mission," one of them - a woman - addressed them. "They had received Father Freed´s message a short time ago."

All three of them removed their hoods. They saw now that indeed all three of them were female, two young teenage girls and a blonde woman, who seemed to be the leader.

"Only three Exorcists. I knew it," Sona said grimly. "The Church isn´t taking this serious."

"Maybe you will change your mind when you hear who exactly they send **Devil** ," one of the girls, with short blue hair and a colored strain, adressed her.

"Tousan," her partner, a girl with chestnut hair, that she was wearing in twin ponytails and magenta eyes, called out, "I am so happy to see you again." She moved forward and drew him into a hug.

"I am glad to see you as well Irina. I just wished it weren´t because the Church had send you to a mission like this."

"This here are Xenovia and Sister Griselda from the Catholic Church," Irina introduced her two companions.

Griselda. Touji froze for a moment at the name. It seemed the Church had taken them more serious than he had expected.

Thee three Exorcists were now completely removing the cloaks they were wearing and standing before them only in the skintight battle-gears they had been wearing underneath.

"Irina, it´s you?" Issei addressed her.

The girl turned to him smiling. "Issei-kun," she exclaimed happily, wrapped her arms around him and drew him into a tight hug as well. "How have you been? I have heard you are the Red Dragon Emperor?"

"Issei-kun, you know this girl?" Vali asked him in a low voice, some barely hidden jealousy was easy to here.

"Of course. This is my old friend Irina, Touji-san´s daughter," he said to her. "Irina, this is Vali, the current White Dragon Emperor and my girlfriend.

"Your girlfriend? The White Dragon Emperor?" Irina asked perplexed.

"I have to say, you childhood friend has grown quite hot Issei-kun," Vali stated. "Especially with what she is wearing. Tell me, is it the tactic of the Church now to distract their enemies by showing off the breasts of their female Exorcists?"

"W-what? How can you say something that blasphemeous?" Irina gapped.

"This gears are merely functional and designed to allow the greatest possible freedom of movement," her partner Xenovia stated.

"Oh, so you deny that they are so tight that they show your assets as if you were underwear-models?" Vali retorted grinning.

"Believe me, I have asked something really similar as I had seen this gears for the first time," Griselda cut in. "That is one of the reasons I usually prefer to wear my nun outfit.

"Sister Griselda, how can you say something like that?" Xenovia asked her.

"Because it is true. I am Griselda Quarta - you already know Irina Shidou - and Xenovia here is the weilder of the Durandal and I am also her Guardian."

Everyone was a bit shocked as Griselda revealed her full name.

"Griselda Quarta? As in the strongest female Exorcist?" Rika asked, both surprised and impressed to see her here.

Rika Moritsugu had never met her in person. But she admitted she had always been looking up to the reputation of the infamous Exorcist.

"Yes," Griselda replied simply.

"It seems the Church had taken our request more serious as we first thought," Issei said to Serafall and Sona.

"It seems so," Sona replied.

 **xxxxxxx**

 _The Underworld_

Baal Hamon was the city that had in many ways taken the town Lilith´s place in the Underworld. It was one of the most impotant centers of politics, trade and culture in the Empire... and it also had one of the strongest gatherings of military. It was the place that would have been the Capital of the Erebos race, if the Emperor had not chosen the human town Kyoto as his residence instead.

And it as exactly this town where Serena and the survivors of her team had been transfered to less than two days ago.

In opposite to some of her team-members, she knew completely well that their sudden reassigment didn´t had the purpose as a punishment for ther `failure´ against the rebel-groups of the Red and White Dragon Emperor.

She had been shortly briefed about the true reasons. As it seemed with the top-secret information the rebels had stolen, high command expected them to attempt attacks on the work camps. That was the reason troops from all over the Empire were being send to reinforce their locations.

What exactly this stolen information had been however, they had refused to tell her. Whatever it was must have truly been top-level. It was kind of ironic, that the rebels knew more now than most of their own soldiers.

She was in this moment standing in front of the large cathedrale.

While it might seemed strange at the first moment, given who they were, the Erebos Demons were one of the few supernatural beings who actually practiced organized religion.

That meant religion in the human sense, that they actually were actually believing in higher forces that were **not** living directly among them and they could´t see and hear.

Like for example the Angels who had (until his death) their God and Creator living right under them and following his orders. Which, if you were honest, didn´t actually require much actual faith if you thought about it.

If you saw it strictly, most Supernatural Beings were actually quite atheistic.

The best example were the `Devils´ who once ruled this place, who were completely aware of the existence of various Gods - but didn´t saw any of them as objects of worship and had in fact an antagonistic relationship with most of them.

To make it short, Supernatural Beings generally only referred to Gods or Higher Existences that they **knew** existed, because they had actually physically met them.

The Erebos Demons were an exception. Maybe it was their long exile that had changed them in this regard.

They had in fact, similar to the humans, a few different religions that existed next to each other. Of course these faiths were also completely different from the humans fundamentally.

They were beings of darkness and so the deities they refered to were similar dark and malicious.

The largest religion under the Erebos, was the cult worshipping the so called `Old Ones´, the legendary first race of Demons that is said to came from the stars long before humanity erose. Especially prominent under them was Ka´thulu - who was, depending on the interpretation, said to be either a high priest or a ruler under the Old Ones.

As the myth says, the Old Ones had been banished from this dimensions eons ago - with Ka´thulu been send beneath the oceans of a far away world in another universe. But it was also part of the legend that one day they would return and recreate their reign of terror, subjugating humanity and all over races - And with the Demons, their direct descendants and chosen people standing at their side.

Serena admitted she was a bit more sceptical here. She had no doubt that Ka´thulu and the Old Ones - or at least beings just like them - had once existed, the ancestors of all other Demons with god-like powers. But were they truly still alive? And if they were and truly returned one day... if they were this powerful and dangerous, would they truly bother with the Erebos, or would they just be tossed aside along with all other races?

Yes, you could say she was not that much of a devoted follower. But she had been thought this faith by her parents. And she was still visiting the dark churches regulary.

But that was not the only religion under the Demons. There was also a smaller, but considerable cult that was worshipping the Great Darkness, the supreme force that was said to have spawned all demonic being in the multiverse, itself. They were however a minority.

In the eyes of most Demons, the Great Darkness was something far removed from them. It´s residence was over the whole multiverse and reality as a whole. So the Erebos, they felt, would be nothing special in it´s eyes. They preferred gods that, while maybe being lesser, were closer to their own level.

Another important figure in many of their mythologies, that in fact appeared in more than one of their religions, was the `Great Snake of Infinity´ that was said to have guided them to a new world during their exile. It didn´t take much to figure out that this being was identical to the Dragon God Ophis, who was known to the Angels and Fallen Angels in this world.

Serena sometimes asked herself if Ophis had truly been helping her ancestors and if, under which circumstances.

Then there was of course also the religion that worshipped the `Great Dragon of Destruction´, that is said to one day rise and devour the world. But that cult was far smaller than the one of the Great Darkness. She honestly wasn´t even quite sure where the ideas of these guys came from. Some of it sounded like a distorted version of the Dragon known as Great Red.

Her thougths returned to the present as she entered the cathedrale - a large dark building in the center of the town, that was towering over the neighboring houses. Build to look both imposing and intimidating.

She would take part in the services, give her prayers and some sacrifices to the fathers of demonkind. Like a good little Demon, she thought with some self-irony.

 **xxxxxxx**

 _Kyoto_

Dagon - the Emperor of the Erebos - was alone inside a secret chamber of his palace. He had given order for all guards and servants to leave him alone, when he was talking to his ally.

Now he was sitting in the center of the room, in the middle of a magic circle... a circle looking different from any other ever seen in this world, showing a strange symbol.

"Now, tell me more," Dagon said into the empty room.

"You want to know?" A voice, seemingly coming out of nowhere answered him. "As you wish," it said.

"As I have told you, I had once been a God of darkness and terror. My name was feared across more than one dimension. I ruled an Empire and was striving to bring order - my order - to the entire universe. My power far surpassed the puny beings you know as gods in your world.

Of course I had my number of enemies. Under them other races of `Gods´. But the most important under them was actually a powerful survivor of an ancient alien civilization and his army of allies - consisting of Super Beings and Heroes. We had many battles that, as I admit now never came to a true conclussion. Like I never managed to destroy them and expand my reign over the rest of their universe, they were never able to actually defeat me and end my reign.

But then something happened what changed things forever. I discovered the existence of a force those power made mine looke insignificant in comparison."

"You are talking about the Great Darkness," Dagon stated.

"Yes - Or Ahriman as his followers are sometimes calling him. But you should not mistake this being for the Angra Manyu that once existed in your world. That was just a pale shadow, a small part of his presence. He had shown me how limited my views and my methods still there. And finally I made the wise decision and joined him.

And while other beings like me were falling, destroyed and were slowly being forgotten, I rose and actually grew more powerful.

Then, at the side of my new brothers in arms and my new Master, we waged a war to reshape not only one world or a galaxy or even a single universe, but the entire multiverse, all of reality in our image... A **Great War** \- the true Great War, not the petty little conflict in this reality," `Galid´s´ disembodied voice was halling through the empty room.

"But then I made a mistake," the super being admitted. "I grew arrogant and overconfident. With my new power and allies, I came to believe that my old enemies could no longer touch me. I was wrong. Instead they joined the other side of the conflict, the ones who were standing against Ahriman and his followers and just like me they gre more powerful.

And so one day during the long war, in my overconfidence I allowed them to catch me off-guard. It was some small barely populated colony world in one of the many universe, where I found my end. They had me outnumbered and outmatched. With my last strength I unleashed and attack against them, one that obliterated that entire planet," he said.

"I took an entire **world** with me. But it didn´t changed the fact that I lost. My body was destroyed, reduced to it´s particles under their combined power. But my spirit and essence lived on. I still existed.

But the true Master of the Darkness in all universes doesn´t appreaciate overconfidence or failure. I was written off and forgotten. I knew if I ever wanted to regain my old power, I needed to reach it on my own.

In my absence my Empire fell into ruins and seazed to exist. For centuries, I roamed the space of the dimension of my defeat as a bodiless spirit. I sustained myself by devouring the life-force of small numbers of random lifeforms I came across. It had been humiliating what I was reduced to. Until I was finally discovered by one of your exploration teams. You know the rest of the story."

"Yes, I do. How can I be sure that you keep your word?" Dagon asked him.

"You don´t need to worry about that. Despite being in exile for so long, I am still both, Herald of the Darkness and an architect of order in the cosmos... and I am bound to my promises," the being claimed.

Could he really believe this? Dagon asked himself.

"And even then, I have nothing to gain by betraying you," the entity continued. "Even if a regained a body and my old strength, my old armies and the planets I ruled over had been lost long time ago. Devastated by my enemies or just scattered in all winds. You however have **both**.

Together we can build up and Empire that will eclipse my old one or the one you rule now by far. We can conquer more than just one universe. But for that we need to trust each other.

But if you insist. I might have another insurance for you. Are you willing to hear what I have to offer my friend?"

"I am," Dagon answered.

The magic circle the Erebos Emperor was sitting inside was lighting up around him. It had the form of a simple symbol... **Ώ** \- an Omega.

* * *

 **Okay, this story is as said, a part of the `Guardian multiverse. This and the crossover aspect becomes especially clear in the last part of this chapter. It has a few very good hints about `Galid´s true identity. I think everybody with a little bit of DC knowledge ca figure it out.  
**

 **The events described here had already been mentioned in a few parts of Guardian.**

 **The character** **Rika Moritsugu is a OC created by Hollowreaper 93 for his story `The last Yoshikage´ and used with permission.  
**

 **xxx**

 **To the religions of the Erebos Demons. The Old Ones are of course based on Lovecraft, with** **Ka´thulu being a distorted form of the name Chtulhu.  
**

 **The `Great Dragon of Destruction´ is Trihexa, with a few aspects of Great Red mixed in.  
**

 **The `Great Snake of Infinity´ is a reference to chapter one, where Ophis had reluctantly helped them, just to get rid of them... and is now ironically refered for it as a deity by some of the Demons.**


	4. Chapter 4: Confrontations

**Chapter 4**

 _The Underworld_

The `Camp´ - that at least was the official desigation - in fact the term was more of an simplification. In fact, most of the complex was actually more a large underground prison.

It´s location was not far away from the ruins of the old Underworld capital - the town named Lilith... that had been eradicated at the end of the Great War.

The core of the prison-facility was build out of the decayed remains of an old fortress of the Devil forces back from that time. That also included a line of underground bunkers that were connected to it.

Now it had been turned into a prison for the same beings who had created these buildings in the first place a long time ago... Devils - now slaves to the Erebos Demon Empire. For the most part they were not even called these name anymore and instead `Half-blood´ or Halfbreeds, referring to their heritage as hybrids between the original Demons, transformed humans and Lucifer´s first generation of Fallen Angels. But that was eons ago.

By now the only ones of them who were still openly calling themselves Devils were the few who were still in freedom, mostly as part of the Rebellion or secret enclaves like New Kuoh.

The ones who were captive here however had mostly given up hope a long time ago.

While the prisoners were for the nights locked inside, in their large holding cells and dungeons. The wide system of over- and underground constructions gave room to hold several hundreds of prisoners, who were held here.

At day they were allowed to move outside, in the area directly surrounding the building. So you could say the actual `camp´ was not just the former fortress, but also the land around it.

The entire place was being surrounded by a large metallic fence, in addition to strong magical wards, that did´t allowed any of them to escape. The power of a very high High Class or Ultimate Class being would be needed to break these wards. That meant if the prisoners had even been able to use their powers. But like it was, they had absolutely no chance.

All that gave the entire place even more the appearance of what in another world would have been called a Concentration Camp.

Beside that the prisoners themselves were being forces to wear specially designed technomagical waste-bands, that suppressed the actice use of their powers and also send out a constant signal that allowed their `masters´ to locate them at any time.

The prison camp was also manned by a garrison of Demons - consisting mostly of overseers, security personel and guards - who were constantly observing them... but also a number of cooks to keep the prisoners fed and a professional healer - who was however not so much assigned for the prisoners, but for the rest of the Demons.

The prisoners were slaves.

But the term might be a bit misunderstandable. In opposite to some other camps - and despite what the Resistance first thought - this ones here were not actually put to physical work.

Given that they were all supernatural beings, this would be - more or less - a waste... of both resources and time. What could they have been put to work for, what magic couldn´t achieve far easier?

Instead the entire prison was designed to extract and absorb their demonic and magical energies - To be syphoned and conserved, to be used for the purposes of their Masters.

In some way their fate was even worse than that of the slaves who were forced to work. These beings were leading nothing but a miserable existence, consisting of vegetating uselessly doing nothing and constantly getting their powers drained, a sense- and pointless life, being barely more than a battery. That or being mistreated and often beaten by the guards.

Many commited suicide over the time. But their Masters didn´t really care, as long as there were still enough others around to take their place. The only reason they were even allowed outside during the day was to keep the rates of the deaths from getting **too** high.

Now however, even this would not longer be enough. The leadership would soon be starting a `special project´... and for that they needed more than just magical energy.

They needed life-force - much of it.

That meant every single one of the imprisoned Devils would soon be sacrificed for a higher purpose. They did not longer cared about `replacing´ the slaves anyway.

Or at least what was what the leadership of the Demon Empire had planned.

 **xxx**

For the moment however, the daily routine was still continuing like usual... Or more precisely, **nearly** like usual.

What was different was that aside from the regular garrison several combat-groups of soldiers had been send here from Central Command, who had just arrived the day before. Most of them were Demons, but also one small group of Fallen Angels was under them.

Their purpose was to accompany and the transport of the prisoners to the current capital of Kyoto-Earth, where the ritual was going to take place. And they were here to make sure that they would reach it without problems. Or with other words, that the rebellion would not manage to interfere and stop the transport.

And with the information the rebels now possessed, they were practically sure they would attempt something like this.

Of all the controversial decisions that the current Emperor Dagon had made during his reign, the one to move the Capital from the Underworld to a town in the Human one, had been quite high on the list. The reasons for this move were also only known to himself and his Inner Circle.

But like so many others, it in the end seemed to play out well for the Erebos Empire. At least on the first look.

The leadership was well aware that the rebels had managed to steal part of the information about the coming ritual... and the number of Life Sacrifices coming with it. Given that - beside humans and Yokai - the resistance also had a significant number of Devils in their ranks, they were fully expecting them to attack them and try to free as many of the prisoners as they could.

That was the true reason availlable troops from across the Empire had been gathered and send to this area.

The Empire however saw this also as a chance to set an ambush... to get rid of at least a few of them and if possible weaken the resistance as a whole.

 **xxxxxxx**

One of the teams send here was the one now led by the female Demon named Serena, who had just recently been promoted to group-leader, after their clash with the Red- and White Dragon Emperor´s and their group of rebels.

They had by now also been briefed about the `full´ situation. That meant in truth they had been told exactly as much as their Superiors believed they needed to know.

What they had known the whole time was that some kind of high-level data had been stolen by the resistance. The same one they had tried to stop from falling into enemy´s hands, when they had been beaten by the Dragon Emperors.

But only now they had been informed what exactly this data had been.

The rebellion, Serena´s thoughts were for a moment focussed on them. She had to supress her rage as she thought about the last fight, how the rest of their team had been killed... easily on top of that.

She forced herself to remember that it was the Empire that had invaded and were now occupying their land. And all too often Demons were killing and terrorising humans or Yokay for little to no reason. The destruction of the old Kuoh for example was only one of many atrocities that her kind was responsible for.

Yes, she admitted to her self that the rebels had **reason** to fight them.

In fact, she admitted she couldn´t help but feel some respect for the rebels... at least for some of them. They were still there and fighting, even after generations of occupation and countless attempts to wipe them out. Even if they were facing the entire Empire and should, purely logically seen, have no hope at all, they were still holding out.

And despite that odds, they even managed to be quite dangerous and had still some incredible powerful fighters on their side - the two Dragon Emperors under them. A part of her secretly admired that.

Her lifelong indoctrination might have caused her to feel nothing but contempt and hate for the `Devils´.

But the Rebellion was another matter. As a Demon, she had been raised to respect strength... and that she **did -** even if that strength had caused the lives of comrades and kicked hers and her team´s asses.

But that didn´t mean that she wasn´t angry about it. She had lost comrades during the last fight she had known for years, friends even. And if she were given any chance to take the two Dragon Emperors and their teams out, she would gladly take it.

But who was she kidding? She was dimensions away to ever even have a chance to take on opponents like that. Bringing down the Dragon Emperors - if at all - was something that others would do.

But that didn´t mean that she and her teammates couldn´t have at least **some** revenge by taking out a few of their weaker comrades.

 **xxx**

Besides the possible threat from the rebels attacking them to disrupt the Empire´s plans however, there was also another problem that the resident Demons were dealing with right now, one smaller and less obvious... and as you could say, much closer to home.

A problem that they had now with the enemies outside, but with each other. To put it short, the Prison Garrison and the newly arrived warriors were simply not getting along.

Or more precisely, both sides had a fundamental problem with each other.

At the one side, for the garrison of the prison-camp and their Commander, the warriors were a bunch of interloppers who were undermining their authority in their own base... and beside that, were showed little respect to them in general.

And in that was the actual root of the problem.

Because there was a reason the warriors didn´t show any respect to them. With the ongoing conflict with the resistance and the large stand-off with the Free Human Countries, they were regulary involved into smaller and larger battles and skirmishes and constantly taking part in military campaigns. That meant most of the Army were risking their lives on a regular base.

The branch of the forces however that were guarding the slave and prison facilities never took part in the actual fighting.

Both groups had been brought up under the same kind of propaganda and discrimination. The same hatred had been intigrated into them since their early childhood.

But the closest thing the guards usually saw to actually battle, was beating up a magically shackled and defenseless Devil.

For that reason, the warriors had slowly come to see the guards as not much more than cowardly thugs.

To say it plainly, the term `prison-guard´ had nearly become something like a curse-word under the troops. The fact that many of them did their best to live up to that reputation didn´t help much either.

 **xxx**

Speaking of which... Serena and her teammates were just now witnessing a perfect example of this, as they watched a couple of guards kicking and beating on a frail and exhausted looking Devil, who was lying before them on the ground.

They had just beaten their victim down and were now taking turn on kicking her.

The female Devil had the appearance of a woman maybe around her fourties. That alone would normally be somehing quite unusual for a Devil, who had the habbit of using their own magic to keep their bodies young. The females normally never let themselves age older than about thirty.

Here however, in this prison, it was nothing unusual for a Devil to look older. Years or even decades of having their magic drained had an effect on many of them, like this one.

One of the guards then materialized a weapon in his hand, no doubt to finish their victim off. But as it looked, he was taking his time with that, as he watched his comrade - a female Demon, looking maybe a few years younger than Serena herself - continuing to torment the slave.

While they were doing that, they were making making comments about: `teaching the filthy halfbreed a lesson´ and throwing in a few more racial insults.

Serena had no problem to say a sick feeling was coming up inside her as she watched the display.

It was not that she felt any compassion or pity for the creature - certainly not, she told herself. Like the rest of her race she had been brought up to hate th Halfbloods (Devils) and would never allow herself to feel something like this for any of them.

But still, something about this scene just felt wrong to her. One look to her two present comrades told her that they were thinking the same thing.

"Is this enough now?" Serena´s sharp voice cut through the scene.

Both guards turned to her.

"Well, it seems we have two `true heroes´ of the Empire here," she said with a side-glance to her comrades. "Teaming up to beat down a `dangerous enemy´."

Both of the guards turned around to her.

"Do you have a problem with it?" the male one asked irritated.

"Yes - don´t tell me you feel sorry for this filthy creature here," the female said. She gave the Devil another kick. "Feeling sorry for a Halfbreed - `Devil´? I didn´t kow our army was full of traitors," she commented with sarcasm and contempt.

"I will tell you what I have a **problem** with," Serena responded with even more venom. "Two cowardly, pathetic, weak low-life weakling thugs - who had never seen a actual battle in their lives, but are now pretending to be strong by beating on a already captured, defenseless slave, who had her powers lobotomised."

"What is it to you?" the female guard hissed.

But she didn´t came to say more.

The two guards saw that Serena´s teammates were now taking position behind her.

They would have never expected a warrior - an officer nonetheless - to actually interrupt them from assaulting a `Devil´... and even less for the rest of her team to assist her in it.

"Let me make one thing clear," Serena stated coldly. "I don´t care in the slightest what happens to this halfblood here. If it gets his head cut off in the next hour, I wouldn´t give a damn," she said with a side-glance to the terrified Devil.

"But the sight of scum like you who are pretending to be Warriors makes me sick."

No. She certainly didn´t care at all about what happened to this creature. She would be dead, along with the reast of the slaves here in a few days anyway.

It was just that these two - how the humans would say - `assholes´ here and their attitude, pissed her off.

"I´m completely with you here," Kraith - one of her teammates agreed.

The rest of her team was now lining up next to her, silently backing her up even more.

Only Kaira, the other female in Serena´s team seemed somewhat reluctant. After all what they were doing here could in fact be interpreted as assisting a `Devil´ - well Halfbreed. And she certainly didn´t want to get into trouble with the higher ups because of it.

But after a short moment, she also joined the line of her comrades.

"I agree," another voice spoke up, interrupting them. "Your show here is quite pathetic."

They saw that is was the leader of the team of Fallen Angels who had joined them, with one of her comrades standing next to her. The leader of the Fallen team was actually a very attractive young girl, with long black hair, violett eyes and very large breasts.

"Now - this show of violence against someone who can not fight back - ara ara," she stated smugly. "I guess normally I would find something like that hot. But I agree with the warrior here, this is just cowardly."

"Shut up Fallen and take care of your own business," the male guard yelled.

"Oh, don´t be like that," the Fallen Angel said softly. "It is not as if I can´t understand you. Being a guard here... - I mean your own comrades from the forces who **actually fight** are thinking you are the lowest scum. It must be really hard having inferiority-complexes like that. So it is really not wonder that you just **want** to beat someone up."

Her voice was practically dripping with sweetness... and Serena and her teammates could barely hold themselves from breaking out into laughter.

"You bitch," the male guard called out. "Who do you think you are? You Fallen are nothing without us and..."

As an answer, the Fallen Angel raised her hand... and summoned a large wave of lighting, that hit the two guards and forced them to the groud, screaming in pain.

The smile the Fallen had on her face as she did it, showed all to clearly that she was enjoying this.

"Who I am?" she said. "Nobody special you could say. My name is Akeno by the way - Akeno Himejima."

Serena recognized the name instantly. The daughter of Baraquiel, one of the Fallen Angel leaders, one of the more level headed ones - half human, but still a member of the Grigori and serving under her father.

"Please," the female guard pleaded, "stop."

Akeno finally ended her onslaught of lightning.

"Get out of my sight," she said coldly to both of them, "and think twice the next time about torturing slaves."

"That was quite impressive," Serena commented.

"Thanks," Akeno replied. "By the way, I didn´t thought a Demon would actually do anything to stop this thugs."

"Like I said it was not about that halfblood," Serena answered.

She suddenly realized that the Devil was starring at her. These eyes, she though.

"You have heard it," she suddenly yelled at the shocked and frightening looking Devil. "So don´t think about thanking me or something. You and the other slaves here will die very soon anyway. But there is no need to torture you before that... And now leave," she hissed at the slave... who was moving away as quickly as her weakened body was able to.

"Was it really necessary to tell her that?" Akeno asked. She was looking after the retreating Devil slave. "You don´t want to torment them, but scaring them with the coming death they can´t prevent is okay?"

"I - sorry, I know that was not exactly smart," Serena admitted. "I it´s just..."

"I see," Akeno responded. "I guess this entire operation is getting to you?"

"Yes, I guess that is it," Serena replied unsure.

Her thoughts flashed for a moment back to the look from the Devil woman. She had never seen such dead eyes on anyone, not matter the species. But that didn´t matter.

 **xxxxxxx**

At the same time the three strike teams from the resistance and their allies from the Church were by now about to enter the Underworld.

The Magic Circle that would be bringing them into the other dimension was already forming before their feet.

Without another word, the combined group of resistance fighters and Church agents stepped inside it. The circle began to glow and one moment later they were gone... reappearing in the realm of the Underworld.

They were, for now, still in a far enough distance to the facility... or to the town, for the transport-spell not to be detected instantly. With a second teleport, they would soon transport directly to the area of the camp. And then the battle would start.

The plan thy had come up with was quite simple. Half of their group would start a direct frontal assault - clearly visible. Their attack however would not be for the prisoners, but directly at the enemy forces.

Meanwhile the other half would use this distraction and transport themselves directly into the center of the camp and free as many slaves as they could.

And that was exactly what they were doing now.

 **xxx**

Issei and Vali were leading the diversive assault, backed up by the greatest part of their teams.

The Exorcists however for now stayed out of the battle. The reason was simply that they wanted to keep the Demons from realizing right away that the Church was helping them. At the first moment, they should believe that this was an attack purely by the rebels. Then the rest of them would move in in the second step of the plan and attempt to free the prisoners.

The wards might have been able to resist High Class beings, but under the combined assault of Issei, Vali and Serafall, it was breaking down instantly.

"Let us beginn," Issei said to both Vali and the rest of their comrades around them - including their Dragons Ddraig and Albion - at the same time.

They teleported one again, this time bringing themselves right in front of the assembled forces... just like it had been planned. Both Dragon Emperors already had their Ballance Breaker Armor activated.

 **[Boost]**

 **[Divide Divide]** Ddraig´s and Albion´s voices were halling through the air as they used their special abilities. **  
**

With their first attacks they already eliminated a line of enemies.

But then the leaders and High Class fighters under the assembled troops powered up to face them. Neither of them was under the illusion that it would be so easy like the last fights they had.

And they were completely aware that the Demon forces inside the town and the regional Lord would for sure be informed about their attack very quickly. That meant they would have a Satan Class Demon Lord and a group of Ultimates here very soon.

They needed to do this quickly.

A moment later the other half of their group - with Kuroka and the Exorcists - reacted. With the wards broken they could now transport themselves right into the middle of the camp.

All was going as planned... at least for now.

 **xxx**

Serena and her team were standing at the side of the just outbroken battle, with Akeno and her Fallen Angels close to them.

Just like the attack of the rebels itself, the fact that it were the Red and White Dragon Emperor and their teams, was no great surprise. They were the most infamous and well known fighters the Rebellion had after all.

What was a surprise however was the presence of the female Devil next to them. The power she radiated was just insane. It surprassed even that of the two Longinus Users.

A Satan Class halfbreed? Had one of them actually survived to this days?

They had heard rumors about the existence of a Devil like this under the rebels. But so far Serena and her team, like most other Demon Warriors, had dismissed this as resistance propaganda.

But it was obviously time to rethink this belief.

Serena and the others had learned from their last encounter with these particular rebels. Instead of going in for a direct fight, they were keeping their distance and kept sending barrages of spells and blasts at them... and so assist the High Class Warriors, who were strong enough to challenge them in close combat.

It might not be the most brave tactic on the first look, but it was better than commiting suicide.

Then however something happened that had not **quite** been foreseen by their leaders.

"A second group of enemies had just appeared," the Fallen Angel Akeno stated. "They had just teleported a team right behind out defenses."

She actually sounded quite smug as she said this. As if she wanted to point out that their leaders should have seen something like this coming.

The second group had, by what they sensed, materialized right next to the assembled slaves.

Well, it seemed like the guards were now actually getting some taste of actual fighting, she thought thought by herself.

Still, for their forces to be outsmarted by the rebels so easily...

 **xxx**

Kuroka and the Exorcists materialized indeed very close to their target.

After a short moment of shock at seeing a rebel team appearing right next to them, the guard activated their own powers and raised their weapons.

But the short moment already made a fatal difference.

Kuroka blasted two of them, killing them before they even came to react.

The rest of the guards fought back, but were quickly cut down by Griselda, Freed, Irina and Reika.

The slaves these guards had been overseeing, a crowd of over seventy Devils - all of them with power dampeners on their bodies - were starring at them as if they could barely believe what they were seeing.

"Well, that was quite easy so far," Reika commented.

"So far - yes," Freed replied. "But I fear it might not stay that way."

"We are here to get you out of this place," Griselda declared.

The prisoners were even more surprised that it was a Exorcist saying this.

In this moment however, they suddenly sensed a set of immense powers appearing in close distance.

"That..." Irina murmured.

"It seems your prediction come true Freed," Kuroka stated. "Our luck is running out. Now we will have to show how good we really are."

"Lord Meloch," Griselda said. "He is here."

They thought about what they had heard about the reputation of this particular Lord of the Erebos Demons. Of the four High Lords of the Empire, who answered only to the Emperor Dagon himself, he was known as the most cruel and sadistical one.

While Pazuzu was said to be extremely dangerous due to his ressourcefullness and tactical prowess... and Lamashu was infamous for both her cruelty and her cunning, she couldn´t quite match Meloch in that regard.

It was one of his ancestors who had been worshipped as a god in ancient times and had children sacrificed and burned in his honor. Mentioned even in the Bible... And this Meloch did his best to live up to his family with his infamous excesses.

 **xxx**

Issei and his team found out very quickly that Meloch´s reputation was not unfounded.

They sensed it nearly instantly as the newcomers arrived. But they were currently locked in close combat with several High Class opponents.

Another Magic Circle appeared close to the battlefield... the Demon Lord and his Elite materialized themselves, sourrounded by a half dozen other warriors.

Meloch himself had the appearance of a tall man with long blonde hair that he was wearing in a ponytail. His three Elite Fighters next to him consisted of two men and a woman. All three of them had Ultimate Class power. They all were showing their demonic wings and the small horns on their foreheads.

"Interesting," Meloch said as he saw the ongoing fight.

In particular Issei, Vali and Serafall fighting off a group of a dozen High Class Demons.

"This are the Red- and White Dragon Emperor, but this female Devil is also very impressive. It seems our Great Purge has actually missed a very dangerous one."

"We will defeat them," the female Elite said confidently.

"If you say so Cira," Meloch replied with a smirk. "You will get your chance soon." He began to power up.

"But first let us put them through a little test."

He was gathering more and more energy. The three Elite Fighters were following his example.

 **xxx**

"Vali!" Issei called out. "Serafall!"

They all were sensing what was happening.

A moment later a barrage of powerful blasts reigning down of them, blowing up and scorching everything around them.

Meloch didn´t even seem to care that a half dozen Demons were hit as well by the attack and literally incinerated. He truly was the monster he was said to be.

`Ddraig,´ Issei thought.

 **[It is okay Partner. We can shield ourselves from that - not easily, but we can,]** he replied, **[and that means Albion and Vali can to.]** The Dragon knew his host was worried about his girlfriend/rival. **  
**

Despite Ddraig´s statement that they could survive it, the assault was enough to force Issei and Vali to their knees... and even Serafall didn´t came out undamaged.

A moment later, with visible scorched Scale Mails, they were looking up to their new enemies.

"What do you think Valerie," Issei asked grimly, using Vali´s full name, "can you take one these bastards down on your own?"

 **xxx**

From the distance Serena and her team - and their new ally Akeno - had been watching as well in growing frustration and disgust, how their leader and his so called Elite had gladly killed their own troops just to land a hit on the enemy.

* * *

 **Authors note:** **While the names of the Devils are named on the Demons of the Ars Goetica, the Erebos Demons are mostly based on pre-christian Demons and Demon like gods.** **Pazuzu and Lamashu for example sumerian/babylonian Demons and Meloch is based on the biblical God Moloch/Meloch.**

 **Like implied or stated several times in the story, the Demons are indoctrinated (brainwashed) from early childhood to follow the doctrin of the state. So the Erebos Demons as a whole are in a way a metaphor for dictatorship.**

 **The version of Akeno introduced here has already been shown in a short scene of the story Guardian.**


	5. Chapter 5: The End

**Chapter 5**

The battle had by now fully broken out on all sides around the prison complex.

At the outer area of the battlefield, Issei was locked in a duel with one of the Demon Lord Meloch´s Elite Warriors.

This warrior was actually a tall, very attractive woman - a female Demon with the name Lilis. She had long blonde hair and large breasts.

Issei admitted, if he were just a bit more perverted or less loyal to his girlfriend, he would have been quite a bit distracted by his opponent´s looks. But to his own luck, he wasn´t.

That didn´t mean he had an easy task. The female Elite was powerful - very.

 **xxx**

Not far from him Vali was fighting another one of these three Warriors. Her opponent was a very powerful sword-fighter who was wearing magical enhanced armor. This Demon Warrior was also weilding not only one, but two, demonic swords at once. Their blades also being additionally enchanted to make them stronger and more effective.

Whatever else you could say about Meloch - and he had a reputation of being a sadist and a pervert with his own harem of slave girls and women - but as it looked, he was at least not thrifty when it came to equipping his Elite.

The name they had heard his comrades calling the Demon by, was Scrash.

This Warrior was, by Issei´s estimation, easily as powerful as a ten winged Angel or Fallen.

He also seemed to possess a good resilience to magical attacks, as Vali found out quickly.

And... as they saw a few moments later, some kind of special ability to magically weaken his enemy. Issei was not quite sure if he was actually absorbing his enemy´s energy for his own, similar like Vali´s Dividing Gear or is he just somehow interrupted his opponent´s power, while using magic to augment his own.

In any case it seemed like a uncomfortably good counter to Vali´s own power of the Divine Dividing.

Issei had not seen her fighting this serious in a long time. Of course, given how she was, a part of her also seemed to be enjoying the hell out of it. That was just who Vali was. No matter how hard a fight was or what was at stake, deep down, she would always be enjoying the fight just for the fighting itself.

Issei had gotten used to that part of her a long time ago.

 **xxx**

What even he didn´t knew about were the self-doubts she was often feeling... the doubt and the fear - about herself, about him, about how he would react if he knew the entire truth about her.

All too often she wished she could just forget the past. Sometimes she asked herself how it would be if `he´ were still alive. He - her `other self´.

Would he be just like her? Or would he be different?

Would he be just as affected by what his - no **their** \- wretched `grandfather´ had done to them? Like she was.

Vali knew there was no point. She would never get an answer to this question. Her `brother´ was long dead.

What was truly bothering her was something else. How would Issei react if he knew? If he ever found out the full truth about her heritage?

He said he loved her. She knew that she did. But he thought of her as a normal person. As normal as a human with Devil blood could be.

But what if he knew everything.

But she had other things to worry about right now. She was in the middle of a fight. Vali avoided another attack from her opponent and responded with a strike with her own weapon.

Fights like this, she admitted, were always a good way to distract herself from such thoughts.

At the same time she used her Divine Dividing to reduce her opponent´s power by half and absorbed it into her own. But he instantly countered by drawing the power back from her.

The only questions were which one of them was better at this. Or which would first find a leathal opening to strike.

 **xxx**

Issei´s own opponent was from a similar caliber. The female Elite Demon however seemed to be relying more on demonic magic and spells than the one swordsman Vali was fighting.

Like her fellow Elite though, she was wearing enchanted armor and equipment. Her weapon was a long battle-lance.

She had a special ability as well, as Issei found out very quickly. In her case it was some special kind of telepathy. At least as far as he could tell.

The first time he had experienced it, Issei had been caught completely by surprise. He felt disoriented, could no longer see clearly. It was as if the ground was shaking below his feet.

It was an attack, Issei realized - a psychic attack. And she had gotten easily behind his regular mental defenses. He shook it off a moment later. Even if it needed all his concentration to resist her telepathic powers.

But it was already too late. Lilis mental assault was quickly followed by a physical one. In the moment he had lost his concentration, she already fired a powerful blast of magical energy that nearly blew him from his feet. That was quickly followed by a number of hard strikes with her lance.

But his armor was still holding and had taken the most of the damage. After a few seconds Issei caught himself again and blocked the next of her hits.

Still - just like with Vali´s opponent, Issei admitted that her abilities were a unsettling good counter to the raw power of the Boosted Gear.

Could it be that these Elite Warriors had been trained especially against them? Issei asked himself. The way their abilities seemed to be countering their own at least suggested this.

Still, even then. And even if both their enemies were tough and very dangerous in their own right. The two Dragon Emperors were confident that they could take them.

 **xxx**

Around them the rest of their team-members were involved in their own fights as well.

Sona, Shirone and Saji were surrounded by a group of regular Demon Warriors and a couple of High Class Demons, who were both wearinf officer ranks. Still, while their opponents were dangerous, their powers were keeping their opponents at bay... so far.

Freed and Meguri were standing back on back, fighting off a quartet of Demon swordsmen who were attacking them from both sides on their own.

The main purpose however was to keep both Meloch´s Elite and most of the warriors occupied, while their other teams and Kuroka were trying to fulfill the rest of their mission ans free the prisoners.

 **xxx**

The remaining member of Meloch´s three men Elite - a male Demon called Throac - along with an entire group of three High Class Demons, was currently teaming up against Serafall.

While Sona´s older sister was powerful - very powerful - these odds were not quite easy to handle, even for enemies were attacking her from two sides at once, with different forms of magic.

To that came that her allies and the prisoners were relatively close by. So she had to be careful with the full extend of her Ice Magic, if she didn´t want to hit them as well. Had she been alone, she could have froze the entire area from here to the city if she wanted. But here of course this was impossible without harming the same people they had come to save.

But even so she was managing to do to do quite well.

 **xxx**

Their Church allies, together with Kuroka, were meanwhile still busy with releasing the remaining prisoners.

After they had successfully teleported behind the enemy lines, they had reached their targets quite quickly. And after `taking care´ of a few guards around them, were now in the process of releasing them.

The group of Exorcists consisting of Griselda and Xenovia Quarta and Irina Shidou, were now standing in front of a large crowd of surprised and in many cases, shocked looking slaves.

Around them were lying the dead bodies of a half dozen fallen guards and a couple of Demon Warriors. But between these were also the bodies of two of their own allies they had lost - both members of Reika´s team, who had come with them as back-up.

The camp guards had not been much of a match for them, but the Warriors were dangerous.

A few of the prisoners were now actually showing looks of hope. While others looked somewhat afraid. Of course, being rescued by Church fighters was not exactly what any Devil would expect. Even with the war being over for centuries.

"You - you are here to free us?" one Devil - a male looking around 40 to 50 years old, in human terms (unusual old for his kind, thanks to the constant drain of energy) - was asking them hopefully.

He, like most of the others, had been imprisoned here for many years. He wasn´t even sure how long - maybe decades. Even before that, he had spend his entire life in hiding from the Empire. Until the day he had finally been captured and send here. Many of the other prisoners he knew, had been slaves their entire lives.

Some have grown up in the houses of noble Demons and then send here to serve as `living batteries´ when their old Masters grew tired of them.

He, like nearly as other, had given up actual hope at ever been freed long ago.

But now...

"We are," Irina responded quickly.

If she was honest, she wasn´t completely sure how to feel about this part as well. Despite the rise of the Erebos Empire, the Devils were still considered traditional enemies of the Church. But as she was looking at their poor state, she could not help to feel sorry for this creatures.

Quite ironically, the very fact that the Demons had just assembled them all here to be transported off and killed had made this task easier for them now. Otherwise they would had to find every single one of them in their cells and bring them out.

Now they just had to overpower the guards to get to their targets and set them free. At least in theory.

But it was still not an easy task, since less than a minute later more Demons arrived and attacked them from all sides at once.

 **xxx**

Meloch himself however was so far only standing back and watching over the battlefield. So far he had not bothered to get himself involved. Despite the fact that another Satan Class being was part of the enemy group.

`Arrogant bastard,´ the two Dragon Emperors thought nearly at the same time.

At first the fight between them and their opponents had been more or less even, with both of them already starting in their Balance Breaker modes and being a match for an Ultimate Class.

After a few minuted however the special abilities of the two Dragon Emperors were taking effect more and more and Issei and Vali were winning ground.

 **[Boost Boost Boost Boost.]**

 ** **[Divide Divide Divide.]****

The voices of Ddraig and Albion were halling over the field.

Now the two Dragon Emperors were on the winning side of the battle.

This changed again however, as the Elite Demons they were fighting were getting more back-up from their regular troops.

"I guess we should stop always having this kind of dates darling," Vali said sarcastically, while she was fighting off two attacking Demons at once.

"And I always thought this is exactly the kind of date you prefer," Issei replied with equal sarcasm.

"I am not that much of a battle-maniac - you know?" she commented. "I can also be normal from time to time."

`Yes, normal - clear,´ she thought silently. `You are not even real... and you are too much of a coward to tell him of it.´

She blocked another attack from her opponent and her thoughts instantly returned to the fight.

It was the same for Issei. Yes, it was really often as if their entire lives mostly cosisted of battles. Of course they were at war.

He had materialized his sword - a holy weapon that Freed had once given to him as a gift from the Church - and to fight the female Elite, who was holding her lance, forcing her backwards.

During the fight he struck down two of the other Demon warriors who got in his way to assist his opponent. Now it were only him and the Elite left.

Another boost of power and he managed to break her staff with a hard strike.

A moment later however, he himself was in turn blasted in the back.

It was at this point that Meloch had finally enough of just standing at the side. And he had used the chance to take another shot at Issei. This time however the Red Dragon Emperor had been concentrating on the Elite he was fighting and not seen it coming.

His opponent Lilis in turn was taking advantage of the distraction her leader had provided and was pressing her attack once more.

She used another one of her mental spells to disorient him even more. Then she summoned herself another weapon - this time a magical sword as well - and was charging at the weakened Issei.

But just before she reached him she herself got interrupted. Meguri jumped in between them and stopped the female Demon´s blade with her own.

She knew she was completely outmatched. But at least she wanted to buy Issei a few seconds... And she did exactly that.

But she paid for it... as it turned out, with her life.

Lilis now directed her powers at her instead. Like Issei a few minutes before, she felt her concentration slipping away and her senses failing.

... and in the same moment Lilis struck.

Issei came fully back to his senses, just in time to see in horror how the demon literally cut Meguri in two halves with her blade.

"You bitch," he growled.

"This is **war** \- human," she stated coldly. "And warriors die in it. That is the natural way of things."

"Then you should better prepare yourself to be the next one," Issei replied grinly.

 **xxxxxxx**

 _Several miles away_

At the same time, in the town of Baal Hamon, another operation was going on. This part had been kept secret except for under the highest ranks of the Empire. Even Lord Meloch himself had not been aware of this part of the overall plan.

This was nothing else than the complete evacuation of the entire city. In a short time, nobody would be left in the town and the area around it.

None except the soldiers who were currently defending the prison camp.

 **xxxxxxx**

But that was not everything.

While all this was happening, somewhere else - high up in the sky over the Underworld, close to the orbit - was a single being, levitating with supernatural powers.

It was the Emperor of the self proclaimed Erebos race, the demon calling himself Dagon. Building up around him was an aura of incredible energy. But this power was not entirely his own. Actually it was not his own at all. But right now it was his to command.

It was all going as planned.

 **xxxxxxx**

 _Prison camp area_

Despite the damage the blast of the Demon Lord had caused, Issei had still been able to defend himself from Lilis counterattack and was still holding himself in the fight.

Meguri´s sacrifice had given him the time to recover. Not only that, his pure power had now surpassed Lilis so far that he had completely gained the upper hand in this fight.

Now he was forcing his opponent back more and more. With the potential of the Boosted Gear, he had now started to win.

 **xxx**

Meloch himself had now joined the fight fully.

And he himself was now the one facing Serafall on his own.

Two of the High Class Demons who had been fighting her before were already gone - fallen to Serafall´s power.

Their dead bodies, one pierced by nearly a half-dozen ice-spears, the other frozen to the core, told everyone how dangerous she truly was.

The Elite Warrior Throac meanwhile had stopped fighting Serafall, leaving her to his Master and turned to target other enemies instead.

The first thing he did was completely eradicating two of Reika´s team-members, before he finally found an opponent worthy of him, in the Master Exorcist Griselda Quarta.

While the Demon Lord himself was a powerful master of Fire Magic, she specialized, like most of the Sitri Clan, in first line in Water and Ice Spells.

Two of their attacks had just clashed, without either of them winning and both spells wiping each other out.

"So you are the Satan Class Halfblood we have heard rumors about?" he stated. "You know, you are actually quite beautiful, for a halfbreed.

You know my dear, if you were not labelled as `too dangerous to be allowed to live´, I would have kept you for my harem.

I have a few others of your kind, you know? They are very attractive as well. Even if they are such filthy beings. You could have kept each other company. Yes, I think I could have much fun with you."

She saw his eyes wandering over her entire body for a few moments, in particular her breasts and her legs. Great, of all Demons she could have fought, it had to be a pervert.

"Oh really? In that case I think I would rather be dead," Serafall retorted. "Bastard."

"That can be arranged," he shouted angrily at her.

 **xxxxxxx**

Serena and her team - together with the Fallen Angel Akeno - had moved forward and joined the direct fight as well.

They had moved closer to the fortress and were now facing Sona Sitri and the younger nekomata Shirone, as well as the two Exorcists Irina and Xenovia.

 **xxx**

A few minutes ago, they would admit, they would not have dared to come close to this particular group. Not with two major threats like Griselda Quarta and Kuroka backing them up.

Serena and her teammates remembered the glympses they had seen of what the older cat-yokai was capable of during their last fight. And Griselda they knew by reputation alone. But that was more than enough for regular soldiers like them.

They were no cowards. They had never hesitated to fight if they at least had a chance. But here? They remembered how outmatched they had been the last time they met the two Dragon Emperor´s group.

A few moments ago however the situation had changed. The Elite Warrior Throac had shown up started a duel with Griselda Quarta. And Kuroka was right now locked in a fight with two High Class Demons.

And so they attacked.

 **xxx**

A number of the now released and even more of the still shackled Devils had been killed, as a couple of the attacks from the High Class Demons misfired and hit into their lines instead. Having been drained of their energies for years now, the pitiful creature had absolutely no chance to shield or protect themselves and perished instantly.

Serena pushed down the uneasiness she felt at seeing the halfbreads dieing. Every bit of her education and indoctrination told her that they were worthless and that it was a good thing they were dead. But something else inside her just couldn´t help to feel unsettled about this needless loss of life. No matter what kind of beings it were.

It didn´t really matter right now how she felt about it anyway. It changed nothing and she had all hands full to defend herself from another one of Irina´s attacks.

 **xxxxxxx**

Serafall´s and Meloch´s powers were clashing once again. With his Fire Magic vaporizing her ice and her Ice-Magic extinquishing his fire in return.

After a few minutes however, the flames were being pushed back more and more and going out everywhere around the Demon Lord. Until they were finaly nearly being thrown back at heir caster.

As much as he hated to admit it, Meloch knew he was loosing... against this filthy halfbreed, this creature that dared to call herself a `Devil´. That should be on her knees before him and serving him.

He was nearly out of energy.

Serafall saw the same thing. They were winning... barely.

But it had been a hard fight. Like her opponent, she was breathing heavily and could barely keep up her attacks.

She stopped her assault for a moment as she saw that Meloch´s defense collapsed.

Serafall would have liked nothing more than to kill the despicable tyrant right here and now. But she simply wasn´t sure if she had enough power left.

She realized that was was stumbling. She was barely able to stand on her own legs.

Just a few seconds, she told herself. She was trying to recover enough strength for another attack to finish him off.

Still, her opponent was even worse off than she was. Meloch had now actually sank to his knees after his fire-magic run out. She could not help to feel some satisfaction at seeing him life this.

Still, she knew she should feel better about this victory. She had singlehandely defeated one of the High Lords. She had proven today that she in fact could have been a Satan.

But the truth was, she didn´t feel any triumph.

The harsh truth was, they - she, Issei and Vali - were the best the Resistance had. But Meloch and his Warriors were **not** the strongest of the Erebos Empire. There were the three other High Lords. All of them at least rivalling him in power, maybe even surpassing him in some aspects. And the Emperor himself was said to even surpass Satan Level.

And if she had that much trouble with someone like Meloch, who was not even the best out of them, who was not even the best out of them, then she knew Dagon would slaughter her if she ever had to fight him directly.

She also knew Issei and Vali would have no chance against the other High Lords if they faced them with their current power. Not to mention that these other three Lords would have their own Elite Troops as well.

There were also rumors going along about a `special task force´ somewhere with incredible power, with the special purpose to exterminate Devils. This group was supposedly called the Devil Hunters (not exactly sounding promising) and the Resistance had not even directly encountered them yet.

If they ever wanted to have a chance in this war in the long run, they knew they needed to improve. They were simply not ready.

What they all didn´t realize was that none of all this had any meaning now.

They had lost this battle. They had lost before it even started. They had lost in the same moment they stepped on this battlefield...

 **xxxxxxx**

Meloch was breathing heavily. He was looking enraged at the Halfblood - the Devil - before him.

It was then, when he suddenly received a message through their techno-magical communication-system. A system working though a combination of his own power and a device implanted into his arm. Just like many of the Empire´s power was based on a combination of magic and technology.

It was a message from the Emperor himself. It said: `Retreat - teleport out of this area - NOW. Use the spell just send to you.´

There had in fact been a spell send to him along with the message, he checked - a magical key-spell especially designed to pass magical wards. Why?

Suddenly he realized. He reached out with his senses to scan the area and a literally diabolical grin formed on his face. He knew he had won.

He let out a short laugh and then formed a transport circle and teleported away.

The Elite Warriors Scrash, Lilis and Throac had gotten a copy of the same message. Just like the Fallen Angel Akeno. The three Elites because they were too valuable to die here and Akeno just for the simple reason that she was Baraquiel´s daughter.

Baraquiel after all was one of the Fallen Angel leaders and one of the most powerful in the Grigori. So it would have been unwise to sacrifice his daughter if it was not absolutely necessary.

 **xxxxxxx**

They had lost, Serena and her teammates realized.

They and Akeno were still fighting their current opponents, as suddenly the two Dragon Emperors appeared next to them.

Issei and Vali had as well been surprised and more than a bit alarmed as their two foes had suddenly decided to teleport away. As it seemed after reading a mysterious message. But they had still moved to assist their friends.

At the same time however they had been using their senses to check the surrounding area of the battlefield. They had a bad feeling about this. What they found was exactly what they had feared.

 **xxxxxxx**

`What was that?´ a confused Serafall asked herself as she watched Meloch teleporting away.

If he had simply fled, why his triumphant reaction?

She had the same thought as he had a few moments earlier and had a cold feeling coming up inside her.

Just like Issei and Vali she mentally scanned the surroundings of the battlefield. A second later she found the wards... that had been errected and were now surrounding the entire area.

Serafall was not sure how many powerful being must have worked to raise them. But she had never seen wards this strong before. Not even a Satan Class being could hope to break them. They were trapped here.

But Meloch and the other had just been given a key out.

A terrible feeling was coming up in her. No - they could not truly... How many of their own people were still here?

She let her senses reach out even further, up close to the orbit and noticed the terrifying energy that was building up there - a energy greater than anything she had ever felt before.

It was a trap, she realized. All this here.

Issei and Vali noticed it as well... and looked at each other in horror. Both tried desperately to think of something they could do. But there was nothing.

It was the same for Serafall. In her last moments she wanted nothing more than to think of something to save them all, her friends, her little sister.

But it was already too late... The attack was being unleashed and in the same second Serafall, everything around her - the rebels, the prisoners, the guards and Demons soldiers, the prison-complex and the entire city of Baal Hamon... were turned to ashes.

The entire region of the Underworld was swallowed by an inferno of deadly energy.

 **xxxxxxx**

Far above them, the Demon Emperor had as well followed the results of the energy he had gathered and then unleashed in a single devastating attack down on the Underworld.

It was just like Galid had promised it. Omega Energy, he had called it. Similar to the infamous Power of Destruction in nature, but even more powerful.

Practically all what came into contact with it, just ceased to exist - was erased from existence.

Galid had suggested this plan to him when they had found out that information about their Project: Rebirth had been leaked to the rebels.

Hundreds of their own men had been down there. Not to mention one of their largest cities. But the sacrifice had been more than worth it. The heart of the Resistance had been wiped out, their most powerful fighters wiped out with a single move.

Tomorow the Empire would simply announce that the town Baal Hamon and it´s surroundings had been destroyed by a new weapon the rebels had unleashed. Their enemies had been severly decimated and the Demon population will believe that they were responsible for this attack as well.

Why would they think that the Empire would destroy one of it´s own towns after all? he thought sarcastically. No, his people would believe whatever their leaders told them like always.

The results of the attack itself were just wonderful, Dagon admitted to himself. Victory! That was the thought on his mind. He looked down in marvel at the results of the destructive power he had been using.

An entire region of the Underworld had been completely destroyed. The Omega Energy had wiped out every living being, every construct or object. All what was left was a giant a glowing crater. The destruction would have been even greater if they had not - with Galid´s help - errected shields around the area that helped to contain it somewhat.

And this, he knew, was only a fraction of what he would be capable of when Galid finally returned to his full power. How much more would be possible? The might to wipe out entire worlds in a heartbeat.

With this, he would be able to exterminate their old enemies wherever he went. Not only in this universe, but in all of them.

And **he** was the one who would be able to weild this power, Dagon thought. This was worth more than all his troops and warriors. For this power, he would gladly even sacrifice half of his entire army.

A power that was not yet his, he remembered regretfully. It had only been borrowed... for now.

But as soon as Galid would keep his word... when he finally returned to flesh and blood, **his** flesh and blood and they would become **one** **being** , then it would all be **his**. They would share one body and one mind and all their combined might. And then everyone who dared to stand against them would perish and his Empire would finally rise to the position that it had always rightfully deserved.

 _"Are you satisfied my friend?"_ the dark presence surrounding him asked.

"Yes," he answered. "The only drawback is that with the loss of the energy of the slaves, it will take you longer to return to your full power."

 _"Do not worry about this,"_ the voice of `Galid´, who was once also known as Darkseid, responded. _"There are more effective ways for me to regain my strength than through these weak creatures anyway. We have both waited for centuries for this. What are maybe one or two years more? Our time will be coming soon. Now that this pitiful Resistance had been destroyed, there is nobody left in this world to stop us after all."_

What Dagon didn´t realize - or maybe just didn´t **want** to see - was that the currently bodiless ancient alien god had no intention to keep his words. On the day they would `become one´, Galid would simply erase his personality and his body would be transformed into his new vessel. In the end there would be nothing left of him, but Darkseid´s new body.

Yes, a new Empire would rise. But it would not longer be Dagon´s.

 **xxxxxxx**

At the same time on the ground, several miles away from the destruction, a small group of shocked and distraught looking people was sitting or lying on the ground.

The only survivors of the massacre - Issei, Vali, Sona, Shirone and the Exorcist Irina.

And in opposite to them, eyeing them warily, the Demon Serena and two of her team-members... and beside them, the one who had saved them all, the Fallen Angel Akeno.

Just in the moment before the attack was unleashed, she had formed a magic-circle and transported them away. At least the few who she could reach in the single second, the ones closest to her. Ironically she had used the same access-spell that Dagon himself had send to her to get them pass the wards and to safety.

The others, Issei and the others fully realized - Kuroka, Serafall, Freed, Saji, Reika... Xenovia and Griselda - they were all dead. Sona and Shirone had tears falling from their eyes as they realized their sisters were gone.

At the same time Serena and her two surviving teammates had a similar realization. The rest of her team... and hundreds of more of their comrades were dead. Not by the hands of the enemy, but by their own leaders.

"Why - why did you save us?" Issei asked the Fallen Angel.

"Isn´t it obvious?" Akeno responded. "I am part of the Fallen Angel´s resistance. I am sorry that I couldn´t save your comrades as well. But they were too far away. We would have **all** died."

"And why did you save them as well?" Vali asked, pointing to Serena and the others.

"I had talked a few times with them before. I saw... well, potential in them. They seemed a bit more open-minded than the regular Demons. And they had seen first hand today what their Empire truly is."

The resistance was crippled, they all knew. Maybe beyond help. Too many of their best and brightest had died today, including their only Satan Class fighter.

They all had lost too much.

"It is all lost," Shirone cried desperately. "Onee-chan, Serafall!"

"Without them we have no chance," Sona said, openly crying as well.

"No - it is not," Issei said. "We all died today. At least that is what the Empire thinks. That is the single advantage we have right now. We will continue to let them think that, while we recover. I might cost us time, but we will build this Rebellion up again.

And Vali and I will grow stronger. You know the stories how powerful some of the past Dragon Emperors had been. I promise you we will reach the same level. And then I promise you all that we will defeat the Emperor and his underlings and avenge them all."

"Whatever happens, you got three new allies today," Serena told them. "I admit that we are not exactly formidable right now. But I promise we will do our best to improve ourselves. And in the long run, it can only be helpful for you if you have a contact in the Demon forces themselves," she said into their surprised faces.

"I realize that you have no reason to trust us yet," she stated. "But believe me, we have seen who our true enemy is now."

Issei exchanged a short look with Vali, Sona and the others, before he gave her a nod in return.

End

* * *

 **This is the end of at least the main storyline of Dark World. In opposite what some reviewer suspected, I is not a happy end.**

 **More of this particular universe will either be shown in Issei Hyoudou the Guardian, where this world had been originally introduced, or maybe I will show further details in stand-alone chapter for this one, that I will write later. I have not completely made up my mind here later.**

 **xxx**

 **The identity of the being called `Galid´ as Darkseid has already been revealed in the last chapter of Guardian. So it is nothing new if you read both stories.**

 **xxx**

 **This chapter had also some hints about the heritage of the female Vali of this universe. The details about this will also be explained in the future.**


End file.
